Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jan;90(1069):20160441.
doi: 10.1259/bjr.20160441. Epub 2016 Sep 26.

Tumour and normal tissue radiobiology in mouse models: how close are mice to mini-humans?

Bridget F Koontz  1 , Frank Verhaegen  2 , Dirk De Ruysscher  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Tumour and normal tissue radiobiology in mouse models: how close are mice to mini-humans?

Bridget F Koontz et al. Br J Radiol. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Animal modelling is essential to the study of radiobiology and the advancement of clinical radiation oncology by providing preclinical data. Mouse models in particular have been highly utilized in the study of both tumour and normal tissue radiobiology because of their cost effectiveness and versatility. Technology has significantly advanced in preclinical radiation techniques to allow highly conformal image-guided irradiation of small animals in an effort to mimic human treatment capabilities. However, the biological and physical limitations of animal modelling should be recognized and considered when interpreting preclinical radiotherapy (RT) studies. Murine tumour and normal tissue radioresponse has been shown to vary from human cellular and molecular pathways. Small animal irradiation techniques utilize different anatomical boundaries and may have different physical properties than human RT. This review addresses the difference between the human condition and mouse models and discusses possible strategies for future refinement of murine models of cancer and radiation for the benefit of both basic radiobiology and clinical translation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
A typical modern small animal irradiator imaging system (XRAD-SmART; PXi, Branford, CT) consisting of a heavy-duty X-ray tube equipped with precision collimators, a precision automated animal stage, a high-resolution X-ray imaging panel mounted opposite the X-ray tube and an optical camera for bioluminescence measurements.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Variation in the percentage of dose delivered by tissue depth. Higher energy results in lower dose at the skin surface and less attenuation at depth.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Regaud C, Nogier T. Stérilisation reontgénienne, totale et définitive, sans radiodermite, des testicules du bélier adulte. Conditions de sa résalisation. C R Soc Biol 1911; 70: 202–3.
    1. Shear MJ, Hartwell JL, Peters VB. Some aspects of a joint institutional research program on chemotherapy of cancer: current laboratory and clinical experiments with bacterial polysaccharide and with synthetic organic compounds. In: Moulton FR, ed. Approaches to tumor chemotherapy. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science; 1947. pp. 236–84.
    1. Skipper HE, Schabel FR, Jr, Wilcox WS. Experimental evaluation of potential anticancer agents. XII. On the criteria and kinetics associated with “curability” of experimental leukemia. Cancer Chemother Rep 1964; 35: 1–111. - PubMed
    1. Kerbel RS. A decade of experience in developing preclinical models of advanced- or early-stage spontaneous metastasis to study antiangiogenic drugs, metronomic chemotherapy, and the tumor microenvironment. Cancer J 2015; 21: 274–83. doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/PPO.0000000000000134 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sharma RA, Plummer R, Stock JK, Greenhalgh TA, Ataman O, Kelly S, et al. ; NCRI CTRad Academia-Pharma Joint Working Group. Clinical development of new drug-radiotherapy combinations. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2016. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.79 - DOI - PubMed