Evolution of Tumor Model: From Animal Model of Tumor to Tumor Model in Animal

Patient derived xenograft (PDX) is defined as a growth of patients’ tumor in the xenograft setting. The evolution of cancer model in animal has a century old history. The most single reason that exerted the pressure on the traditional animal model of cancer to evolve to PDX is that the traditional models have not delivered as expected and traditional models have not predicted clinical success. In spite of well above 50 drugs developed and approved for oncology over the last several decades, there remains a nirking paucity of clinical success as a reminder that this war on cancer riding on the animal model is far from won. In a backbreaking attempt to analyze the failure, the limitation of the “model” system appeared to be the most rational cause of this shortcoming. It was more of a failure to test a drug rather than a failure to make a drug that stunted our collective growth and success in cancer research. PDX is the product of this age-old failure and its fitness is currently tested in virtually all organ-type solid tumors. This review will present and appraise PDX model in the context of its evolution, its future promise, its limitations and more specifically, the current content of PDX in different solid tumors including breast, lung, colorectal, prostrate, GBM, pancreatic, hepatocellular carcinoma and melanoma.