Current research developments of patient-derived tumour xenograft models (Review)

Zhenyu Yin; Ewetse Paul Maswikiti; Qian Liu; Yuping Bai; Xiaomei Li; Wenbo Qi; Le Liu; Yanling Ma; Hao Chen

doi:10.3892/etm.2021.10640

Current research developments of patient-derived tumour xenograft models (Review)

Exp Ther Med. 2021 Nov;22(5):1206. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10640. Epub 2021 Aug 24.

Authors

Zhenyu Yin¹, Ewetse Paul Maswikiti¹, Qian Liu¹, Yuping Bai¹, Xiaomei Li¹, Wenbo Qi¹, Le Liu¹, Yanling Ma¹, Hao Chen²

Affiliations

¹ The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.
² Department of Oncology, Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, P.R. China.

Abstract

Patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) models are established by transferring patient tumors into immunodeficient mice. In these murine models, the characteristics of the primary tumor are retained, including the microenvironment of tumor cell growth and histopathology. Due to this, it has become the most reliable in vivo human cancer model. However, the success rates differ by type of tumor, site of transplantation and tumor aggressiveness. Subcutaneous transplantation is a standard method for PDTX, and subrenal capsule transplantation improves the engraftment rate. Recently, PDTX models are frequently used in the fields of precision medicine, predictive biomarkers, evaluation of drug efficacy and preclinical research on tumor immunotherapeutic drugs. The aim of the present article was to review the establishment, clinical applications and limitations of the PDTX model in tumor research.

Keywords: patient-derived tumor xenograft; precision medicine; tumors; xenograft.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

Funding: The present study was supported by the Cuiying Scientific and Technological Innovation Program of Lanzhou University Second Hospital (grant. no. CY2017-ZD01); the Key Project of Science and Technology in Gansu Province (grant. no. 19ZD2WA001); and the Science and Technology Project of Chengguan District of Lanzhou City (grant. no. 2019RCCX0034).