Importance of immunodeficient mice for experimental and preclinical studies in oncology

Abstract

In vivo tumor models created in various mouse strains play an important role in studies on antitumor therapies. An adequately selected model allows one to sufficiently assess the significance of the effect of the studied substance on molecular targets, its effect on the growth and viability of the tumor, and also to reveal a therapeutic window between the effectiveness of treatment and toxicity. An appropriately selected model allows an adequate assessment of the significance of the effect of the studied substance on molecular targets, the model’s effect on the growth and viability of the tumor, and also detection of a therapeutic window between the treatment effectiveness and toxicity. Xenografts of human tumors transplanted to immunodeficient mice are one of the most popular models for studying tumorigenesis and antitumor effects. Immunodeficiency of animal recipients is the prerequisite to prevent the rejection of tumor material from another biological species. A large number of different mouse strains have been developed, with varying severity of immune system defects and with various phenotypic and genotypic characteristics. The choice of an animal strain for a model creation depends on the research tasks. The success of an experiment directly depends on choosing the correct strain of experimental animals.

Keywords

• oncology
• immunodeficient mice
• tumor models
• xenografts
• patient-derived models
• cancer models in vivo