Xenograft Model
An animal model in which human tumour cells or tissues are transplanted into immunodeficient mice to study cancer biology and test potential treatments. Xenograft models are used in preclinical evaluation of peptide-based cancer therapies, including proteasome inhibitors and radiopharmaceutical peptides.
Technical Context
Xenograft models involve implanting human tumour cells (cell line-derived xenograft, CDX) or patient-derived tumour tissue (patient-derived xenograft, PDX) into immunodeficient mice (nude, SCID, NSG strains). CDX models use established cell lines (standardised, reproducible but may not reflect tumour heterogeneity); PDX models use fresh patient tissue (better recapitulating human tumour biology but more variable and expensive). For peptide-based cancer therapies: proteasome inhibitor (bortezomib, carfilzomib) efficacy is tested in multiple myeloma xenograft models; radiopharmaceutical peptide (Lu-177 dotatate) efficacy is tested in neuroendocrine tumour xenografts expressing somatostatin receptors. Xenograft models assess: tumour growth inhibition, survival extension, dose-response relationships, and combination therapy synergies.