Experimental chemotherapy of human tumors heterotransplanted in nude mice

Human tumors heterotransplanted in nude mice offer the most realistic model for experimental chemotherapy of human neoplasms. Almost all the known human malignancies have been successfully transplanted in the nudes, although the rate of takes varies considerably between different tumor types. So far, a good correlation has been observed between the results obtained treating with the same drug the same tumor in the patient and in the nude mouse. Our experience in this field is, however, still too limited for the direct extrapolation of chemotherapeutic results obtained in the nudes to human tumors.