CDX (Cell-line Derived Xenograft) models standardization in mice for the study of pediatric cancer

• Grant number: 22/06559-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Priscila Pini Zenatti Salles
• Grantee: Lucas Ildefonso Buscaratti
• Host Institution: Centro Infantil de Investigações Hematológicas Dr Domingos A Boldrini (CIB). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

When it comes to cancer, the pediatric category represents about 3% of registered cases, sampling an incidence that varies in world populations between 70 and 120 cases per million of inhabitants each year. From the 1960s onwards, the adoption of treatment techniques multimodality brought a significant increase in survival for patients affected by these malignancies, however, cure rates for some childhood neoplasms have remained stagnant, especially when looking at recurrent and metastatic tumors. This situation is due to some factors, such as the scarcity of models to study the development of pediatric tumors, because most of the new targets therapeutics that are tested in preclinical and clinical phases have been performed in neoplasms adults. Therefore, this project proposes to develop and standardize CDX Model (Cell-line Derived Xenograft) for the study of pediatric cancers at the Boldrini Research Center. In addition, the project proposes to evaluate the characteristics of the CDX model for each tumor lineage regarding cell viability, reproducibility and growth time. The results obtained will serve as a basis for the development of models PDX (Patient Derived Xenograft) with primary cells from patients in future projects, including the PRONON project "Precision medicine applied to childhood cancer" (SIPAR - 25000.211368/2019-41), which is already underway in the laboratory.