# Faithful mouse modeling of human lung cancer

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2021 · $16,770

## Abstract

Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women with a 5-year survival rate
of only 19%. Although PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade therapy may improve these outcomes, the majority
of lung cancer patients still fail this innovative immunotherapy. One major obstacle in the lung cancer field is
the lack of faithful models that are suitable to identify mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression and
metastasis of human lung cancer and to test new therapeutic strategies against this number 1 cancer killer.
Xenograft, syngeneic or humanized mouse models using established cancer cell lines cannot recapitulate the
natural coevolution of cancer and stromal cells as well as their intricate interplay in the complex micro-
environment. Furthermore, using immunocompromised mice for xenograft transplants precludes the critical
interaction between cancer cells and the immune system. To meet this important challenge, we have recently
generated a novel mouse model of lung cancer, with the full process from tumor initiation to regional and
distant metastasis at a penetrance of 100%. Notably, the metastasis pattern in this endogenous lung cancer
model closely resembles that of its human counterpart in patients. In this application we will systematically
characterize this model, and importantly, examine if it replicates human lung cancer molecularly, genetically
and immuno-phenotypically. We will also establish several complementary models and incorporate them with
the imaging markers luciferase and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) allowing monitoring and
tracking tumor development and metastasis non-invasively in vivo. These studies will establish faithful models
and provide fundamental knowledge on human lung cancer. They are also highly significant to the cancer field
at large, given the currently limited knowledge on cancer, and in particular, the full process from tumor initiation
to regional and distant metastasis in general.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10198461
- **Project number:** 1R21CA259706-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** GUTIAN XIAO
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $16,770
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10198461

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10198461, Faithful mouse modeling of human lung cancer (1R21CA259706-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10198461. Licensed CC0.

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