Advances in the development of improved animal-free models for use in breast cancer biomedical research

Abstract

Through translational research, the outcomes for women (and men) diagnosed with breast cancer have improved significantly, with now over 80% of women surviving for at least 5 years post-diagnosis. Much of this success has been translated from the bench to the bedside using laboratory models. Here, we outline the types of laboratory models that have helped achieve this and discuss new approaches as we move towards animal-free disease modelling.

Tumour microenvironment 3D-modelling: simplicity to complexity and back again

“…Access to primary TME cells traditionally required research groups to be located at hospital sites, with a bespoke team in place for consenting, collection, and processing, which was beyond the reach of most research groups. However, with the increase in tissue banking, researchers now have enhanced access to primary TME cells [10]. Tumour samples from these banks also provide the opportunity to validate findings in clinical samples, with potential to access outcome data, thus bolstering the value and pre-clinical relevance of the model system.…”

Mitochondria Dysfunction in Frontotemporal Dementia/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Lessons From Drosophila Models

“…Hardy and Rogaeva (2014). To investigate the roles of mitochondrial dysfunction and other disease mechanisms, both patient-derived cells and animal models have been essential scientific tools (Vandamme, 2014;Roberts and Speirs, 2017;Kim et al, 2020). With the advent of GWAS studies a multitude of mutations have been linked to disease development (Witte, 2010;Tam et al, 2019).…”