The NCI-60 cancer cell line panel is a group of 60 human cancer cell lines used by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the screening of compounds to detect potential anticancer activity.^[1]

Purpose

The screening procedure is called the NCI-60 Human Tumor Cell Lines Screen, and it is one of the Discovery & Development Services of NCI's Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP).^[2][3][4] The screening rates for each cell line the cytostatic and cytotoxic impact of tested substances.^[2]

Due to the diversity of the cell lines, it is possible to compare tested compounds by their effect patterns, high correlation potentially corresponding to similar effect mechanisms.^[2] An automated comparison against a database of more than 88,000 pure compounds and more than 34,000 crude extracts (as of 6 January 2017^[update]) is provided by the COMPARE tool, which shows a list of substances ranked by the Pearson correlation coefficients for a given test substance.^[5]

The same panel is used in the Molecular Target Program for the characterization of molecular targets. Measurements include protein levels, RNA measurements, mutation status and enzyme activity levels.^[6]

Cell Lines

The panel holds cell lines representing leukemia, melanoma, non-small-cell lung carcinoma, and cancers of the brain, ovary, breast, colon, kidney, and prostate.^[1][2]

13 additional cell lines are evaluated for use in the screening program, among them two lines deriving from so far not represented small-cell lung carcinoma.^[1]

All cell lines but one (as of 6 January 2017^[update]) are available to other laboratories, including the additional cell lines.^[1]

Misidentification and Misclassification

Starting around the turn of the millennium, several cell lines were found to be misidentified or misclassified at the time of investigation or earlier:^[7][8][9]

MDA-MB-435, originally classified as breast cancer cell line, was identified as being a melanoma cell line.^[7] When investigated further, current MDA-MB-435 appeared to be derived from the same individual as cell line M14.^[7] An examination of clones made clear that the mixup with M14 happened very early in the history of MDA-MB-435, before establishment in the Developmental Therapeutics Program.^[7]

NCI/ADR-RES, originally classified as breast cancer cell line, was identified as being an ovarian tumor cell line.^[8] NCI/ADR-RES appears to have been derived at some point in time from cell line OVCAR-8.^[8] Originally the cell line was named MCF-7/ADR-RES; it was renamed together with the change in classification.^[8]

Two brain cancer cell lines, SNB-19 and U251, were discovered to come from the same person.^[9] This makes a mixup likely.

A 61st cell line, MDA-N, has been confirmed to being derived from the misclassified MDA-MB-435 cell line.^[7] So it is also misclassified, really being a melanoma cell line, but as of 6 January 2018^[update] the official website still lists it as breast cancer cell line.^[1] This cell line is not available as of 6 January 2018^[update].^[1]

The International Cell Line Authentication Committee maintains a list of contaminated cell lines.^[10] It includes the cell lines reported above, although usually with reporting dates and articles considerably later than the first dates and articles rising specific concern regarding the respective cell line.^{[10][7][8][9]}

Continued Use of Wrong Classification

As of 2014^[update] Hundreds of research studies still use MDA-MB-435 as model of breast cancer, even after it was officially declared to be a melanoma cell line in 2007, and even in highest-rated international peer-reviewed journals.^[11] Similar is true for other misidentified cell lines.^[11]

List of NCI-60 Cell Lines

List of Additional Cell Lines