[Knowledge and practice of patient-derived xenograft models in leukemia]

Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models have gained attention due to their wide applications in basic research and drug development, and due to the increase in requirements for pathological analysis and anticancer drug evaluation. The development of immunodeficient mouse strains with high-level engraftment of normal and diseased cells has contributed to the considerable progress in understanding the human pathophysiology. The PDX model is one of the most important tools to bridge the gap between traditional animal models and the clinical trials. PDX not only recapitulates human disease in vivo, but also multiplies the tumor cells. Therefore, efforts were made internationally to develop a PDX bank for leukemias and solid tumors for future research and experimentation. PDX might be an ideal model to simulate actual human diseases for cancer research; however, some challenges still persist. Thus, this review aimed to summarize the developmental history of immune-deficient mice, the efforts of overcoming PDX limitations, PDX model applications for preclinical research, and the current attempts to establish domestic leukemia PDX bank in Japan.