Project name: Homo sapiens

Description: Development and pre-clinical testing of new cancer therapies is limited by the scarcity of in vivo models that authenticallyreproduce tumor growth and metastatic progression. We report new models for breast tumor growth and metastasis, in the formof transplantable tumors derived directly from individuals undergoing treatment for breast cancer. These tumor grafts representthe diversity of human breast cancer and maintain essential features of the original tumors, including metastasis to specificsites. Co-engraftment of primary human mesenchymal stem cells maintains phenotypic stability of the grafts and increases tumorgrowth by promoting angiogenesis. We also report that tumor engraftment is a prognostic indicator of disease outcome for newlydiagnosed women; orthotopic breast tumor grafting marks a step toward individualized models for tumor growth, metastasis,and prognosis. This bank of tumor grafts also serves as a publicly available resource for new models in which to study the biology ofbreast cancer.Overall design: Single replicates of total RNA from 12 human breast cancer tumors and xenografts of those tumors in immunodeficient mice were hybridized to Agilent Whole Human Genome expression arrays.

Data type: Transcriptome or Gene expression

Sample scope: Multiisolate

Relevance: Medical

Last updated: 2011-09-30