Primary lung tumors in mice as an aid for understanding, preventing, and treating human adenocarcinoma of the lung

Primary lung tumors in mice have morphologic, histogenic, and molecular fea tures similar to human lung adenocarcinoma, and in particular, the bronchio lo-alveolar carcinoma subtype. Because of this. and because of the genetic homology between man and mouse and the ease of genetic manipulations in mic e, this model system is receiving intense research attention. This review i s intended to be informative to clinical investigators. and describes featu res of this model, how it is being used for translational research, and poi nts out additional avenues of study that could have practical benefits, suc h as application for identifying novel therapeutic strategies. (C) 2001 Els evier Science Inland Ltd. All rights reserved.