title: Dynamical observation on biological progression of VX2 liver tumors to identify the optimal time for intervention in animal models.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Based on practice guideline of "management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): update" published by American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and "Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system (BCLC)," this study investigated how to enroll the optimal VX2 liver tumor model for HCC researches by dynamically observing the biological progression of the tumor.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two healthy New Zealand white rabbits were implanted VX2 liver tumor by cell suspension method (n=24) and tissue fragment method (n=8). All the rabbits underwent CT scans on day 7, 14, 21 and 28 after implantation to observe the size of the tumors, the time when metastases and ascites occurred and the survival time. Appropriate intervention times were estimated corresponding to different clinical HCC stages by using tumor diameter-time curve.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VX2 liver tumors grew rapidly within 28 days after implantation. And the tumors in the cell suspension group grew faster than those of the tissue fragment group. The appropriate intervention time corresponding to very early stage, early stage and intermediate stage were <11 days, 11-16.9 days and >16.9 days, respectively in the cell suspension group, and <19.9 days, 19.9-25.5 days and >25.5 days, respectively in the tissue fragment group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preclinical animal research needs to improve on different levels to yield best predictions for human patients. Researchers should seek for an individualized proposal to select optimal VX2 liver tumor models for their experiments. This approach may lead to a more accurate determination of therapeutic outcomes.
authors: PET/CT Room, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
authors: Zhenguang
authors: Z
authors: Wang
authors: Guangjie
authors: G
authors: Yang
authors: Pei
authors: P
authors: Nie
authors: Junhua
authors: J
authors: Fu
authors: Xufu
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: Dan
authors: D
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001201:Ascites / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D011817:Rabbits; D013535:Suspensions; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D047368:Tumor Burden
chemical_list: D013535:Suspensions
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