The Use of Mouse Models for Lung Cancer Chemoprevention Studies

Mouse lung tumor models are widely used in lung cancer chemopreventive studies. Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease histologically classified as small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), which is usually divided into adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and large cell carcinoma. In order to illustrate the power of the mouse model in preclinical lung cancer investigations, comprehensive instructions for the selection of mice, genotyping, and induction of lung tumors (e.g., adenoma/adenocarcinoma, lung SCC, and SCLC) in mice are provided. We have described in detail the histological features of these tumors and the application of these features in lung cancer chemoprevention studies. We have also provided detailed information on how to semiquantitatively phenotype lung tumor development. The basic protocol described here could easily be applied to other approaches to lung cancer prevention such as chemoprevention or immunoprevention.