Despite the development of many nonanimal methods, animal models are still needed to study the pathology of cancer and identify effective therapies. With more than one million mice utilized in oncology research in the EU in 2019, it is clearly important to protect the welfare of the animals, both from an ethical point of view and to improve scientific quality and reproducibility. In Nature Protocols, De Vleeschauwer and co-authors propose a consensus statement, The OBSERVE (Oncology Best-practices: Signs, Endpoints and Refinements for in Vivo Experiments) guidelines, which provide a series of practical and specific recommendations for the refinement of murine cancer models. The guidelines cover all murine model systems: patient-derived xenografts, cell line- or organoid-based xenografts, humanized mice and autochthonous models such as spontaneous, chemically induced or genetically engineered models. The recommendations notably address appropriate implantation methods, description of clinical signs and humane endpoints, as well as monitoring of tumor growth and animal follow-up.

Original reference: De Vleeschauwer, S.I. et al. Nat. Protoc. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-024-00998-w (2024)

尽管开发了许多非动物方法，但仍然需要动物模型来研究癌症的病理学并确定有效的治疗方法。 2019 年，欧盟有超过 100 万只小鼠用于肿瘤学研究，无论从伦理角度还是提高科学质量和可重复性来说，保护动物的福利显然都很重要。在Nature Protocols中，De Vleeschauwer 和合著者提出了一份共识声明，即 OBSERVE（肿瘤学最佳实践：体内实验的标志、终点和细化）指南，该指南为小鼠癌症的细化提供了一系列实用且具体的建议模型。该指南涵盖所有小鼠模型系统：患者来源的异种移植物、基于细胞系或类器官的异种移植物、人源化小鼠和本土模型，例如自发模型、化学诱导模型或基因工程模型。这些建议特别涉及适当的植入方法、临床症状的描述和人道终点，以及肿瘤生长的监测和动物随访。

Original reference: De Vleeschauwer, S.I. et al. Nat. Protoc. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-024-00998-w (2024)