Patient-derived xenografts: a promising resource for preclinical cancer research

Christina Karamboulas; Laurie Ailles

doi:10.1080/23723556.2018.1558684

Patient-derived xenografts: a promising resource for preclinical cancer research

Mol Cell Oncol. 2019 Jan 8;6(1):1558684. doi: 10.1080/23723556.2018.1558684. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Christina Karamboulas¹, Laurie Ailles^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Patient-derived xenograft tumors retain molecular and histopathological features of the originating tumor and are useful preclinical tools for drug discovery and assessment. We recently reported that 'rapid' engraftment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma samples is highly prognostic and correlates with deregulation of the G1/S checkpoint. Tumors with genetic alterations in cyclinD1 (CCND1) and/or cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) are more likely to respond to abemaciclib.

Keywords: Patient-derived xenografts; abemaciclib; biomarker discovery; engraftment; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; preclinical tool.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP126203), the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (Investigator Award), the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, and the Joe and Cara Finley Centre for Head and Neck Cancer Translational Research, with additional philanthropic funds contributed by the Wharton Family and Gordon Tozer.