SNU-387 was derived in 1990 by J.-G. Park and associates from a primary hepatocellular carcinoma taken from a Korean patient who had been treated by transcatheter arterial embolization with lipoidol plus a combination of doxorubicin and mitomycin-C. Tumor cells were initially cultured in ACL-4 medium supplemented with 5% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum. After establishment, cultures were maintained in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% heat inactivated fetal bovine serum.