ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the subcutaneously (s.c.) implanted xenografts as a model which has been employed successfully for the evaluation of various therapeutic modalities by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) and by a variety of researchers in pharmaceutical companies, universities, and research institutes throughout the world. Tumour models have included spontaneous as well as chemical- and viral-induced tumors and transplantable tumors which have been in serial transfer for many generations. The transplantation of human tumors to animals which have been artificially immunosuppressed requires manipulation or treatment which could compromise the results of tumor growth. The s.c. nude mouse-human tumor model has been utilized extensively by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in preclinical evaluation of hundreds of drugs. Tumor growth inhibition, which reflects the retardation in tumor growth of the treated group relative to the control group, is widely used to assess the efficacy of therapeutic agents against s.c. xenografts.
