Do we now have a relevant animal model for breast cancer?

Excerpt

Recent advances in manipulating targeted genes in a tissue-specific manner have opened the way to the development of relevant mouse models for the molecular dissection of the events leading to breast cancer. However, when judging the appropriateness of any given mouse model, it is important to remember that breast cancer comprises a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by different sets of genetic mutations, histopathological types and metastatic potentials, often within the same primary tumour mass. It is unlikely that any single mouse model will be able to mimic all these aspects of human breast cancer but this does not invalidate their use in studying specific aspects of the disease. Mouse models are particularly valuable for defining the molecular pathways participating in mammary epithelial cell transformation and disease progression, for identifying modifier genes that affect penetrance of the manipulated gene and for testing various therapeutic and preventative approaches. The paper by Xu et al [1] in a recent edition of Nature Genetics describes a new model that offers promise in several respects. …