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Mouse models of breast cancer metastasis

2006; BioMed Central; Volume: 8; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1186/bcr1530

1465-542X

Anna Fantozzi, Gerhard Christofori,

Virus-based gene therapy research

Metastatic spread of cancer cells is the main cause of death of breast cancer patients, and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying this process is a major focus in cancer research. The identification of appropriate therapeutic targets and proof-of-concept experimentation involves an increasing number of experimental mouse models, including spontaneous and chemically induced carcinogenesis, tumor transplantation, and transgenic and/or knockout mice. Here we give a progress report on how mouse models have contributed to our understanding of the molecular processes underlying breast cancer metastasis and on how such experimentation can open new avenues to the development of innovative cancer therapy.