An Orthotopic Ovarian Carcinoma Model with Metastasis in Nude Mice

Ovarian cancers are the leading cause of death among gynecologic tumors.Animal models are necessary for experimental cancer research and play an important role in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities.The improvement of animal models to better simulate the conditions in patients is important for its role in the treatment for ovarian cancers.Orthotopic implantation is an attractive technique.Unlike heterotopic implantation,it allows a more accurate expression of the biologic nature of a human tumor,including growth,morphology and metastasis.The aim of the present study was to establish an orthotopic ovarian cancer model with high metastasis in nude mice.Human ovarian carcinoma cells HO-8910PM,a subline with highly metastatic potential,were inoculated subcutaneously in female nude mice to form solid tumors.The exuberantly growing tumor were removed,sliced and introduced into ovaries of other nude mice by microsurgical techniques.The growth and metastasis of the orthotopic lesion were followed,and pathological examinations were performed.Ovarian cancers formed in animals with an incidence of 57.14%.Metastatic lesions were detected in the lung,diaphragm,liver,stomach,intestine,pancreas,peritoneum,contralateral ovary and lymph nodes located in the iliac fossa,with an occurrence rate of 83.33% in animals.Transplanting tissues into the ovary of a nude mouse can form an orthotopic cancer model,and the manner how cancer spreads was similar to that of human lesions,which offers a remarkable model to explore ovarian cancers.