Of Mice and Humans: Are They the Same?—Implications in Cancer Translational Research

Article Figures & Data

TABLE 1

Mouse Models in Cancer Research: Characteristics, Strengths, and Shortcomings in Implementation and Clinical Efficacy Prediction

Type	Material	Site	Advantages	Drawbacks
Syngeneic	Chemical induction—injection of cells or explants from the same species	Predominantly subcutaneous; orthotopic	Immunocompetent hosts; availability of well-characterized cell lines; low cost; ease of implementation; reproducibility of tumor properties; preserved stroma–cancer cell interactivity; simple statistics	Often poor representation of human disease; sometimes lack of target-molecule homology between species
Xenogeneic	Injection of human cell lines or explants	Subcutaneous (unnatural site)	Availability of well-characterized cell lines; simple to implement; expression of human homolog of target; efficacy databases available; reproducibility; homogeneity in tumor characteristics	Immunosuppressed and nonhuman hosts; more costly and microbe-free animal housing; murine peritumoral milieu; different from human tumor histology
		Orthotopic (primary tumor source site)	Best mimicking of human carcinogenesis and metastatic patterns	Complex logistics; surgical skills; limited number of hosts; nonhomogeneity or nonreproducibility of tumor growth rates; problems with statistics
Genetically engineered	Expression of target or label—spontaneous carcinogenesis		Controlled cancer progression in selected organs; resemblance of human carcinogenesis; immunocompetent syngeneic host	Limited availability of hosts; restricted experience; cost; variations in tumor growth rates; demanding statistics; murine host stroma