Establishment of Patient-derived Orthotopic Xenografts (PDX) as Models for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background/aim: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death. The purpose of the present study was to establish a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft model (PDOX) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), thus providing a tumor microenvironment resembling that of the human pancreas to identify novel potential biomarkers and treatment regimens.

Materials and methods: PDAC tissue samples were received from 35 patients, following informed consent, and three mouse strains were implemented.

Results: Successful PDOX engraftment was performed in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) and NOD/SCID gamma (NSG) mice. Nonetheless, we found a higher rate of successful engraftment and tumor growth in NSG compared to NOD/SCID mice, possibly owning to the different level of immunosuppression and more specifically of the natural killer cells presence.

Conclusion: Our suggested PDOX model represents a preclinical cancer research model with a high affinity for the patient's tumor microenvironment, thus enabling the acceleration of PDAC research.

Keywords: PDAC; PDOX; PDX; Pancreatic cancer; pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; patient-derived xenografts.