动物造模 z-bo 2020-11-05 310

　　Scientists often use mice to test drugs, and now some cancer patients also pin their hopes of curing themselves on laboratory mice. They paid for a private laboratory to breed some mice to act as their "stand-in" for trial treatment. These mice carry part of the patient's tumor tissue, and their response can help the patient decide whether to undergo unbearable chemotherapy and determine which drugs have the best effect.

　　In the past few years, hundreds of patients have customized their own "stand-ins" to test chemotherapy regimens. Irene Uti, a breast cancer patient living in Miami, USA, said: “What I am doing is personalized cancer treatment, which is the trend of the future. I don’t want to waste time accepting chemotherapy that is not suitable for me and let them poison my body. "

　　Can these mouse "stand-ins" really help cancer patients? No one dares to pack tickets. At least in the opinion of Ryan Kirchtonfield, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, "there is no substantial science" to prove the effectiveness of this approach, and it should be considered highly experimental.

　　Just last week, the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the world's largest breast cancer conference, was held. This is also the third large-scale cancer conference this year with the theme of customized cancer mice. According to a recent report by the physicist organization network, Alana Wilm, a cancer researcher at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, introduced the work of mouse "stand-ins" at the meeting. She said: "I do see hope. , But it is very time-consuming and very expensive. For ordinary patients, standard treatment is still required."

　　Where can I customize "stand-in" mice?

　　Several laboratories are breeding this kind of mice, but the main provider of customized "stand-in" services to patients is Champions Oncology, headquartered in New Jersey, which also has branches in London, Tel Aviv and Singapore.

　　In the company's laboratory in Baltimore, six rooms are equipped with storage cabinets similar to shoe racks. About 7,000 mice live in plastic cages on the shelves, and each plastic cage corresponds to a cancer patient. name.

　　Most of the custom mice are white-haired female mice with red round eyes; some are hairless mice. Some mice live alone in a room, and some live in groups. Many mice carry signs of tumor transplantation, such as part of the hair being shaved, a scar from an incision, or a large lump on one side of the body.

　　How much does that cost?

　　Patients send their tumor samples to Champions Oncology. The company charges a storage fee of US$1,500. Each time a group of mice is used to test a drug, an additional US$2500 is added. The company’s chief medical officer Angela Davis said that most patients will test 3 to 5 drugs at a cost of between US$10,000 and US$12,000, which is not covered by insurance companies.

　　Uti spent $30,000 because she wanted them to test all possible drugs, even some drugs for other types of cancer.

　　How's the effect?

　　There are some encouraging early reports. Andrew Gaya, the head of Oncology Care, a private clinic in London, assisted in leading a study of 70 patients, all of whom had clear treatment results. Their experiments published in September showed that mouse "stand-ins" generally reflect patients' responses to various drugs. Gaya said that 70% of mouse tests found drugs that were helpful to patients; while those that did not work in mice failed in human patients.

　　However, there is currently no evidence that this method is better than treatment based on medical guidance or existing genetic tests that help patients choose drugs.

　　What are the limitations of

　　?

　　Mouse "doubles" have some shortcomings, said Benjamin Neal, research director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto and spokesperson for the American Association for Cancer Research.

　　First of all, the testing process takes several months, after which the patient can start treatment.

　　In addition, tumor grafts from patients are all under the skin of mice, rather than where cancer usually occurs, such as the pancreas or lungs, so it does not reflect the environment of human tumors. At the same time, the immune system of these mice "stand-ins" is highly damaged, so that they can tolerate human tumors without rejection, but this also means that they cannot reflect how a person's immune system responds to treatment, so they cannot be used. For testing immunotherapy.

　　Neal believes that "even if these (mice) prove to be really valuable", they may not be able to compare to those new technological advances, such as the technology that can grow tumor cells in a laboratory dish in a few weeks. .

　　But Yuti said that the mouse "double" plus genetic testing and the opinion of the attending doctor seems to be the best choice for her at the moment. Her mouse "stand-in" test found two effective drugs, and she chose the one that is believed to have less side effects on the heart. She has recently completed chemotherapy and radiotherapy is about to end.

　　may be suitable for cancer patients at which stage?

　　The use of mouse "stand-in" trial treatment may be the most suitable for those patients whose cancer has metastasized or cancer cells have come back after pre-treatment, to help them choose the next treatment plan.

　　59-year-old Aaron Panoff is from Toronto. He was diagnosed with liposarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, four years ago. The doctor did not recommend any specific drugs and told him "6 months to live".

　　But his mouse "stand-in" helped him. Test results showed that the first drug prescribed on the prescription did not work, but another drug for colon cancer might be effective. Panov said, "This has greatly increased my confidence" and is more able to tolerate side effects. Now, his condition is in a remission period.

　　71-year-old Ruben Moser is from Tel Aviv. His colon cancer has spread to the liver. But the mouse "stand-in" confirmed that the prescription drug he used was a good choice.

　　Moze’s mouse "stand-in" was bred in February this year, and he is still receiving treatment.