A new cell line was established from a liver metastasis of a human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The cell line, MDAPanc-3, which arose from a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, produces carbonic anhydrase II mRNA, but no detectable levels of insulin or alpha amylase mRNA. The stem line chromosome number was determined to be 43, with six marker chromosomes. Growth of MDAPanc-3 is stimulated by cholecystokinin (CCK) fragment 26-33. The cell line will be useful in further studies on the mechanism(s) by which CCK stimulates growth of certain human pancreatic adenocarcinomas and normal human pancreatic exocrine tissue.