Renca: A syngeneic renal cancer mouse model for testing immunotherapies

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) primarily affects individuals aged 60 to 70 years, with men being twice as likely as women to develop the disease. Accounting for 3% of all adult cancers, RCC comprises multiple histological subtypes. Due to the asymptomatic nature of early-stage RCC, misdiagnosis and inadequate screening methods, over 50% of RCC cases are detected incidentally, and approximately 30% of patients are diagnosed with metastatic RCC. Recent advancements in the development of targeted therapies and immunotherapies to treat cancer warrant the need for an effective preclinical model with an intact and functional immune system, enabling the study of therapy-driven immune responses and tumor-induced immunosuppression.1 The Renca cell line, originating from a spontaneous renal adenocarcinoma of Balb/c mice, is a highly aggressive renal cancer cell line particularly valuable for evaluating novel immunotherapies, making it an essential tool in RCC research.2

4T1-luc2: An orthotopic mammary cancer model to support novel immuno-oncology drug discovery

Breast cancer is the second most deadly malignancy after lung cancer in woman in the United States, with an estimated 246,000 new cases and 40,450 deaths expected in 2016. Many treatment options for breast cancer exist including surgery, radiotherapy, anti-estrogen therapy, targeted therapies (e.g., trastuzumab), and chemotherapy. Despite these therapeutic advances, metastatic disease remains a significant source of mortality. Immunotherapy has seen remarkable progress in the last five years with four T cell immune checkpoint inhibitors approved. While none of these checkpoint inhibitors are approved in breast cancer, there are currently 60+ clinical trials ongoing in breast cancer with checkpoint inhibitors against PD-1 or PD-L1 and 20+ clinical trials ongoing with CTLA-4 inhibitors. 

BxPC-3: Evaluating responses to standard therapeutic agents in subcutaneous mouse model of human pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer, particularly pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), stands as a formidable global health challenge with a projected incidence of 18.6 per 100,000 by 2050. Surgical resection, the potential cure, is hindered by late-stage diagnoses, limiting viable candidates. Accounting for 85% of pancreatic cancer cases, PDAC often eludes early detection due to its retroperitoneal location, resulting in dismal 5-year survival rates not surpassing 10%. Other challenges include the tumor’s aggressive nature, patient frailty and pervasive resistance to therapies. Overcoming these challenges demands innovative approaches and BxPC-3, a human PDAC model, emerges as a valuable tool for in vitro and in vivo testing of novel therapeutic interventions to improve outcomes.

Novel technique for preclinical assessment of targeted therapies to inhibit both primary and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer remains a formidable challenge in healthcare as the leading cause of cancer-related fatalities. Constituting 80% of all lung cancer cases, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is of particular concern due to the development of brain metastasis observed in 20%-40% of NSCLC patients, contributing to poor prognosis, recurrence and a post-metastasis survival time of only one to two months if left untreated.1