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Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 7, 2008; 14(45): 6915-6923
Published online Dec 7, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.6915
Mouse models in liver cancer research: A review of current literature
Martijn WH Leenders, Maarten W Nijkamp, Inne HM Borel Rinkes
Martijn WH Leenders, Maarten W Nijkamp, Inne HM Borel Rinkes, Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht GA 3508, The Netherlands
Author contributions: Leenders MWH and Nijkamp MW contributed equally to this work; Leenders MWH and Nijkamp MW performed the literature search and wrote the article; Borel Rinkes IHM is chief investigator, guided the research work and revised the article.
Correspondence to: Dr. Inne HM Borel Rinkes, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO box 85500, Utrecht GA 3508, The Netherlands. i.h.m.borelrinkes@umcutrecht.nl
Telephone: +31-88-7558074 Fax: +31-30-2541944
Received: May 26, 2008
Revised: August 7, 2008
Accepted: August 14, 2008
Published online: December 7, 2008
Abstract

Primary liver cancer remains one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. Due to differences in prevalence of etiological factors the incidence of primary liver cancer varies among the world, with a peak in East-Asia. As this disease is still lethal in most of the cases, research has to be done to improve our understanding of the disease, offering insights for possible treatment options. For this purpose, animal models are widely used, especially mouse models. In this review, we describe the different types of mouse models used in liver cancer research, with emphasis on genetically engineered mice used in this field. We focus on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as this is by far the most common type of primary liver cancer, accounting for 70%-85% of cases.

Keywords: Primary liver cancer; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Mouse model; Genetically engineered mice