Models of Experimental Brain Tumors

Ha, Young Soo

Abstract

Despite concentrated basic and clinical research efforts including the initial successful combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy with BCNU, significant progress in the treatment of human brain tumors have been slow and looks for more successful strategies developed based upon the information from animal model system. It is to recreate in the laboratory under experimental condition a model of human brain tumors. Although no unique model of the numerous animal tumors resembling the spontaneous human brain tumors developed in these days, experimental animal models to have own specific adventages can be induced by exposure to oncogenic viruses or chemical carcinogens. Intracerebral injection of oncorna viruses can produce glioblastoma mutiformes, astrocytomas and sarcomas, while medulloblastoma, choroids plexus papilloma and ependymomas can be induced by papova viruses, and human adenovirus may cause neuroblastoma, medulloepithelioma and retinoblastomas. Chemical induction in adult animals and transplacental chemical induction were ependymoblastomas, glioma, gliosarcoma and malignant neurinomas. Reproducibility of location, cell type, and time of tumor appearances;expense;growth in tissue culture;trauma to brain;nature of vasculature, and amount of brain and tumor tissue available for examination are the variables to be considered in choosing a model to use in evaluating drug and other therapies, cell kinetics and immunological studies.