Table 1a Transplantable tumour models

Syngeneic

MC26 colon cancer in BALB/c mice (Alsheikhly et al, 2004)

B16 melanoma in C57/Bl mice (Rusciano et al, 1994)

4T1 mammary carcinoma in BALB/c mice (Kim et al, 2009)

Conventional rodents and normal housing

Covers wide range of tumour types

Models immune and stromal interactions

Tend to be aggressive and grow over a short time frame

Not applicable if investigating human-specific parameters

The genetics and histology of tumours may not reflect the human situation

Xenogeneic

HCT116 colon cancer in athymic mice (Huxham et al, 2004)

PC3 prostate cancer in athymic mice (Patel et al, 2002)

Systemic leukaemias in irradiated NOD/SCID mice (Liem et al, 2004; Lock et al, 2005)

GFP transgenic mice to enhance visualisation of tumour–host interactions (Yang et al, 2004)

Luciferase-expressing cancer cells for bioluminescent imaging (Dickson et al, 2007; Comstock et al, 2009; Shibata et al, 2009)

Allows direct investigation of human cells

Human cancer cell lines are increasingly being characterised by genetic and other molecular techniques (Ihle et al, 2009; Bignell et al, 2010)

Can be an established cell line or human primary tissue (Neale et al, 2008; Rubio-Viqueira and Hidalgo, 2009)

Amenable for immune reconstitution

Can be grown s.c. or orthotopically

Requires genetically immunodeficient (nu/nu or SCID) animals

Requires sterile isolation and ACDP containment level-II

Genetically modified cells will require ACGM containment

May not be suitable for use with agents modifying the immune system or where cellular interactions are being investigated