Background and purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most common cancer forms developing in industrialized countries, and its incidence appears to be rising. Studies of human population groups provide insufficient information about carcinogenesis, pathogenesis, and treatment of CRC. To study these phenomena in detail, a number of animal models of human CRC have been developed. The hypothetical ideal animal model should mimic the human disease in terms of morphology, biochemical alterations, and biological behavior. No existing model replicates the disease as an entity, but available models approximate many of the characteristics of human colonic carcinogenesis and metastasis. So far few comparative evaluations of the various animal models of CRC have been made.
Conclusion: Animal studies cannot replace human clinical trials, but they can be used as a pre-screening tool, so that human trials become more directed, with greater chances of success. The orthotopic transplantation of colon cancer cells into the cecum of syngeneic animals or intraportal inoculation appears to resemble the human metastatic disease most closely, providing a model for study of the treatment of metastases. Which model(s) to choose depends on the goal(s) of the experiment(s). The review published here can provide help in selecting the most optimal CRC model(s) for a certain purpose and in preventing unnecessary duplication of animal experimentation.