CLINICALLY RELEVANT ANIMAL MODEL OF HUMAN BREAST CANCER AND VEGF INVOLVEMENT IN DESMOPLASTIC RESPONSE, TAMOXIFEN RESISTANCE AND METASTASIS

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for producing a human breast cancer xenograft that simulates human breast cancer in a non-human mammal said method comprising: obtaining a human breast cancer cell line, said cell line comprising a system capable of an inducible expression of a VEGF molecule and further comprising at least one of the following characteristics: positive for estrogen receptor expression, minimal invasiveness in the absence of VEGF expression, estrogen responsive growth, and sensitivity to antiestrogen treatment; introducing said cell line into a non-human mammal to produce said xenograft; and characterized in that said xenograft is stimulated to undergo growth and metastasis from a primary site to a secondary site and to induce a desmoplastic response by inducing said expression of said VEGF by the cell line, wherein said VEGF is expressed at levels equal to or greater than 0.22 ng per milligram of total cytosolic protein.