Patient-Derived Xenograft Models for Studying Vascular Mimicry in Melanoma In Vivo

Tumor growth needs supply of nutrients, oxygen, and blood like the rest of the tissue, but it has been observed that tumor tissue may develop its own neovascular vessels lined with tumor cells instead of the endothelial cells. This phenomenon is referred to as vascular mimicry. Understanding vascular mimicry in melanoma is necessary for the progress of targeted therapeutic research. Patient-derived melanoma xenograft models replicate the tumor microenvironment in vivo and are more reliable in predicting patient response to therapy compared to tissue culture-based methods. This book chapter describes the patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for studying vascular mimicry in melanoma in vivo. The chapter discusses methods for tissue collection, preimplantation processing, implantation, harvest, storage, and postharvest. Detection of vasculogenic mimicry has been described using immunohistochemical expression of markers.