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Animal Models in Research pp 363–398 Cite as

Animal Models in Cancer Research: Revolutionizing the Field of Oncology

  • Sakshi Anchan 4 , 5 ,
  • Zaid Shaikh 4 , 5 ,
  • Anupama Kumari 6 &
  • Rahul Thorat 7  
  • First Online: 04 April 2024

Cancer is a disease characterized by an uncontrolled proliferation of cells. This loss of control arises because of environmental, pathogenic, lifestyle, and hereditary factors individually or combined. The headwinds in current research include early diagnosis followed by metastasis and recurrence. Hence, cancer research becomes essential for prevention, early intervention, and to better understand the pathogenesis of the disease. Various animal models are used in cancer research to aid in a better understanding of disease biology. Mice, rats, hamsters, rabbits, and zebrafish are commonly used animal species. Each species has a unique characteristic that helps researchers to develop a model system. The cancer models can be spontaneously driven, chemically induced, syngeneic, or humanized mouse models, xenotransplant models (CDX/PDX), or genetically engineered. In this chapter, we offer an outline of the various animal models with emphasis on different techniques of development of a few of the cancer models.

  • Spontaneous model
  • Orthotopic model

Patient derived xenograft

  • Humanized mice

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Abbreviations

Cell-line derived xenograft

Genetically engineered mouse models

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Mahimkar Lab (Tobacco Carcinogenesis Lab), Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Mumbai, India

Sakshi Anchan & Zaid Shaikh

Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Tata Memorial, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Centre for Comparative Medicine, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi, India

Anupama Kumari

Laboratory Animal Facility, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Tata Memorial Centre, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Rahul Thorat

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Laboratory Animal Science Division, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, BioMedical Technology Wing, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

Harikrishnan Vijayakumar Sreelatha

Animal Research Facilities, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Satish Patel

Experimental Animal Facility, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Perumal Nagarajan

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Anchan, S., Shaikh, Z., Kumari, A., Thorat, R. (2024). Animal Models in Cancer Research: Revolutionizing the Field of Oncology. In: Vijayakumar Sreelatha, H., Patel, S., Nagarajan, P. (eds) Animal Models in Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0048-6_14

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0048-6_14

Published : 04 April 2024

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  1. Animal Models in Cancer Research: Revolutionizing the Field

    5.1 Types of Animal Models in Cancer Research (Figs. 14.1 and 14.2) 5.1.1 Xenotransplant Models. A major advantage of the xenotransplant models is that there is high accordance in the tumors obtained when a given number of cells are grafted into the host with little difference in the host response to the graft.