“Predictive Preclinical Models of Human Cancer: Mouse Models Get Another Chance” is devoted to the use of mouse models in cancer. Guest Editor Dr. Cory Abate-Shen has put together a collection of reviews by outstanding investigators who describe the new generation of mouse models designed to study human cancer and the potential impact of these models on identifying new treatments for patients with cancer.
Murine models have been used for decades for testing new cancer therapies, but there is a widespread perception that xenograft models lack adequate predictive power for the clinic. Some investigators have turned their attention to genetically engineered mouse models of cancer, and it is this latter strategy that is the subject of this issue of CCR Focus. The expression of oncogenes, the deletion of tumor suppressor genes, or a combination of the two approaches can be achieved through genetic modification of mice. Many of these models replicate familial cancer syndromes in humans. As such, they are superior models for testing drugs for prevention of cancer, while still limited in their ability to replicate the stepwise and stochastic nature of mutations acquired during carcinogenesis. A new generation of genetic models attempts to come ever closer to replicating human carcinogenesis, including the elusive metastatic phenotype. Six articles address these issues: Abate-Shen in the overview, Olive and Tuveson on mouse models of pancreatic cancer, Fomechencko and Holland on models of brain tumors, Carver and Pandolfi on models of leukemia and prostate cancer, Degenhardt and White on models with defined molecular pathways, and Singh and Johnson with the industry point of view.
CCR Focus offers these reviews to educate the interested non-expert and stimulate interest and encouragement and inspiration for those labouring in the field.
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