Role of tumor-derived fibroblasts in the growth of primary cultures of human breast-cancer cells: effects of epidermal growth factor and the somatostatin analogue octreotide.

In the present study we have investigated the role of human breast-cancer-derived fibroblasts in the proliferation of primary cultures of epithelial cells derived from the same tumor. For this purpose, a co-culture system, using Transwell tissue-culture inserts with microporous membranes was employed. Fibroblasts and epithelial cells were enriched according to differences in their density on Percoll density gradients.