Bmc Cancer
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Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a tumor known to be resistant to conventional therapies. Thus, an in vivo model can represent an important tool for assessing the efficacy of novel approaches in the treatment of MPM.Presently, human MPM cells have been grown orthotopically in mice upon transplantation of tumor masses or tumor cell suspensions following surgery. In these models however, surgery can interfere with the tumor growth and the early stages of tumor development cannot be easily explored. Finally, results may not be so accurate due to implantation of potentially different tumor samples in different experimental groups.Our work aimed at establishing a nude mouse model xenotransplanted with human MPM cell lines in which tumor progression exhibits some features of the human disease. ⋯ This model mimics the progression of human malignant mesothelioma and it is easy to perform and reproducible; therefore it can be useful to study human MPM biology and evaluate the efficacy of novel therapies.