Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) and patient-derived xenograft mouse models (PDXs) can recapitulate important biological features of cancer. They are often part of precision medicine studies in a co-clinical setting, in which therapeutic investigations are conducted in patients and in parallel (or sequentially) in cohorts of GEMMs or PDXs. Employing radiology-based quantitative imaging in these studies allows in vivo assessment of disease response in real time, providing an important opportunity to bridge precision medicine from the bench to the bedside. The Co-Clinical Imaging Research Resource Program (CIRP) of the National Cancer Institute focuses on the optimization of quantitative imaging methods to improve co-clinical trials. The CIRP supports 10 different co-clinical trial projects, spanning diverse tumor types, therapeutic interventions, and imaging modalities. Each CIRP project is tasked to deliver a unique web resource to support the cancer community with the necessary methods and tools to conduct co-clinical quantitative imaging studies. This review provides an update of the CIRP web resources, network consensus, technology advances, and a perspective on the future of the CIRP. The presentations in this special issue of Tomography were contributed by the CIRP working groups, teams, and associate members.
Keywords: CIRP web resource; GEMMs; PDXs; co-clinical imaging; co-clinical imaging research resource; co-clinical trial; preclinical quantitative imaging; quantitative imaging.