Development and angiographic utilization of the Oncopig liver cancer model: a comprehensive pictorial review

Image-guided locoregional therapies are central to the management of liver cancer. Large-animal models are valuable preclinical tools for advancing interventional oncology because they allow testing with standard clinical imaging platforms and devices. The Oncopig^TM is a genetically engineered porcine model that enables site-specific tumor formation through inducible expression of KRAS^G12D and TP53^R167H following exposure to Cre recombinase. This pictorial essay illustrates the technical methodology for liver tumor induction in Oncopigs and demonstrates the angiographic use of tumor-bearing animals for evaluation of transarterial therapies. Liver tumors were induced using an ex vivo transgene activation approach in which liver biopsy specimens were incubated with an adenoviral vector expressing Cre recombinase and injected percutaneously into the liver under ultrasound guidance. Tumor development occurred in 34/37 (92%) induction sites across 17 Oncopigs and was confirmed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography. Hepatic arteriography using standard clinical devices enabled selective catheterization of tumor-feeding arteries. This pictorial essay provides a technical guide for investigators studying liver-directed therapies in a translational large-animal model.