Despite of the fact that a large amount of therapeutic agents have been developed for
cancer treatment, we are still sometimes in a dilemma of choosing a most effective regimen for individual. With the reference of several recent researches, positive clinical correlations have been identified with primary
tumor xenografts models, but limitations in existed models reveals a need for improvement. Over the past decade, conceptual progress has been made that
tumors had increasingly been recognized as organs in which ostensibly normal cells as well as
cancer cells participate actively in
tumorigenesis by creating the "tumor microenvironment". Herein, we propose a hypothesis based on this novel conception that if transplanted as an organ,
tumor implantation in nude mice would conserve most approximated
biological traits with improved success rate, which make personalized
tumor xenograft model practical for pre-clinical trials as substitutes for each patient. In our pilot study, intact
tumor bloc was applied in implantation to evaluate this notion. As a result, 107 xenografts from all 20 patients of
gastric cancer were transplanted successfully. Pathological comparison confirmed that no differences between xenografts and primary
tumors while the therapeutic response to two chemotherapeutic agents,
docetaxel and
pemetrexed, exhibited differently. In conclusion, applying personalized primary
tumor xenograft model derived from freshly excised
tumor in pre-clinic trails would potentially lead to a more effective customized
chemotherapy.