Abstract
Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models are established by transplanting immune-compromised mice with tumor samples from cancer patients. The application of PDX models has facilitated the development of anticancer drugs in preclinical studies. In this article, we present a method to establish a liver cancer PDX model. Human liver cancer tissues are subcutaneously injected into scid mice to generate a bank of tumors, which are subsequently passaged into different generations of mice to maintain the liver cancer PDX models. The liver cancer PDX models mostly resemble their original tumor properties as determined by immunohistochemistry analysis and western blot assay. Treatment with sorafenib, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved standard first-line drug that has been used for the treatment of unresectable liver cancers, suppresses the tumor growth in the liver cancer PDX model. Although there are limitations to this liver cancer PDX model, it has helped scientists to investigate, in preclinical studies, novel therapies for liver cancer treatment which are more precise and clinically relevant.
