BT-474 Human ductal breast carcinoma: New life for an old model

The BT-474 cell line has a long history, but many of us thought it had run its natural course and was quickly becoming obsolete.

NCI-H2228 – usage of DCE MRI in a non-small cell lung cancer orthotopic brain metastatis model

More than 90% of all pancreatic cancers are classified as ductal adenocarcinomas and, within the western-world, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths.

LL/2: an immunosuppressive murine tumor model

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States and is, by far, the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women. In 2019, the American Cancer Society estimates that 228,150 new cases of lung cancer (116,440 in men and 111,710 in women) will be diagnosed, and 142,670 deaths from lung cancer (76,650 in men and 66,020 in women) will occur.

Models for non-small cell lung carcinoma - part 2

As we presented in last month’s model spotlight, lung cancer is a devastating disease and is the leading cause of cancer death in the US and worldwide.1 The research community continues to look for new models that will aid in lung cancer research. The ATCC (a widely used cell repository) currently has over 100 different human derived lung cancer cell lines.

GL261: Syngeneic murine glioma model

Glioblastomas are known to have a poor prognosis with median survival of nine months and only five to 10 percent of patients surviving up to two years. Conventional therapies include radiotherapies and surgical removal of the tumor in combination with chemotherapy.

C1498-Luc-mCherry: A syngeneic acute myeloid leukemia (AML) model

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common hematologic malignancy in adults with a 5-year survival rate of ~25% following diagnosis.[1] While two-thirds of AML patients treated with standard high dose chemotherapy achieve remission, 50% of patients relapse after remission. The majority of relapses occur within two to three years of initial treatment, and every patient carries the risk of relapse due to the molecular heterogeneity of the disease.[2] This has created an impetus to explore novel therapeutic approaches; in particular, immune-based therapies, since AML cells express both major histocompatibility complex (MHC) classes I and class II which makes them susceptible targets of innate and adaptive immune responses.[3]

ID8: A syngeneic mouse model for testing ovarian cancer immunotherapies

ID8-Luc is a novel syngeneic mouse model developed to treat orthotopic ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer remains a significant unmet medical need with a relative 5-year survival rate of 17% in patients diagnosed with highly advanced stage IV ovarian cancer.

Tumor models for pancreatic cancer

More than 90% of all pancreatic cancers are classified as ductal adenocarcinomas and, within the western-world, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths. Prognosis with pancreatic cancer is extremely poor, with a 5-year relative survival rate of 5% and median survival of 3.5 months for patients with Stage III non-resectable tumors.1 Unfortunately, the incidence of pancreatic cancer has been on the rise while the 5-year survival rate has not changed. Surgical resection is the only potentially curative therapy, but only 10% of patients are diagnosed early enough for this to be an option and most who are eligible for surgery ultimately relapse. As with many other types of cancer, pancreatic cancer grows silently for years without any symptoms. In most cases diagnosis is not made until the cancer has grown outside of the pancreas to other proximal tissues and/or has metastasized. These patients are left with very few meaningful options. Therefore, effective novel therapies are sorely needed in treatment of pancreatic cancer.

HT-29 as a preclinical model for colorectal cancer

For men and women combined, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 49,000 individuals will die of CRC in 2016. Fortunately, the death rate from CRC has been declining in both men and women over the past several decades. Early screening efforts along with improved treatment options are at least two of several likely reasons for this drop. However, while there are now more than one million CRC survivors in the United States, we will see over 95,000 new cases being diagnosed in 2016.

HCC70: A model of triple negative breast cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), accounting for 15-20% of all breast cancers, lacks estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and amplification or overexpression of Her-2. As such, these tumors are not responsive to hormonal or anti-Her2 therapies, and are usually treated with combinations of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Although many triple negative tumors respond well to chemotherapy, patients generally have poorer prognosis, higher relapse rates with aggressive tumor growth, and high metastatic potential. More than 300 clinical trials are currently ongoing in TNBC (www.clinicaltrials.gov) evaluating various single agent and combination approaches with chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy. Clinically, radiation therapy has been associated with decreased risk of locoregional recurrence and some instances of improved overall survival when compared to patients that did not receive radiation therapy.1, 2