A metastatic model of human cancers using orthotopic onplantation

We have recently developed an intact-tissue onplant method of orthotopic transplantation of human cancer xenograft, with resulting local growth, lymphatic involvement, and distant metastasis to the liver and lung, thereby reflecting the clinical situation closely. Therefore, this model represents the whole process of metastasis, consisting of local tumor growth, vascular and lymphatic invasion at the local site, flow in the vessels and lymphatic extravasation at the relevant metastatic organs, seeding the growth at the metastatic sites. The intact-tissue orthotopic-onplantation model seems to be useful to study the mechanism of metastasis for discovery of antimetastatic agents, the patient tumors and this treatment design.