Patient-derived xenograft model in cancer: establishment and applications

Abstract

The patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model is a crucial in vivo model extensively employed in cancer research that has been shown to maintain the genomic characteristics and pathological structure of patients across various subtypes, metastatic, and diverse treatment histories. Various treatment strategies utilized in PDX models can offer valuable insights into the mechanisms of tumor progression, drug resistance, and the development of novel therapies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the establishment and applications of PDX models. We present an overview of the history and current status of PDX models, elucidate the diverse construction methodologies employed for different tumors, and conduct a comparative analysis to highlight the distinct advantages and limitations of this model in relation to other in vivo models. The applications are elucidated in the domain of comprehending the mechanisms underlying tumor development and cancer therapy, which highlights broad applications in the fields of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, delivery systems, combination therapy, antibody–drug conjugates and radiotherapy. Furthermore, the combination of the PDX model with multiomics and single-cell analyses for cancer research has also been emphasized. The application of the PDX model in clinical treatment and personalized medicine is additionally emphasized.