Establishment of an Animal Model of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Invading the Mandible.

Objective: To establish an animal model of oral squamous cell carcinoma invading the mandible through multi-sample experiments that verified the stability, repeatability, tumorigenicity and mandible destruction rate of the model.

Methods: Oral squamous cell carcinoma cell suspension was injected into the outer side of the mandible through the anterior edge of the masseter muscle of naked mice to observe the tumourforming process. Then, the anatomical, histological and imaging examinations were carried out to determine whether the tumour had invaded the mandible. By comparing the tumour growth of multiple groups of various squamous cell carcinoma cells (CAL27, HN6 and HN30 cells), the changes in body weight and characteristics of tumour formation were compared, and the experience was summarised to further verify the stability, repeatability, tumour formation rate and arch damage rate of the model.

Results: The subsequent specimens of tumour-bearing nude mice were validated once the model had been established. In vitro, tumour tissue wrapped around the mandible's tumour-bearing side, and the local texture was tough with no resistance to acupuncture. Haematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that squamous cells were infiltrating the mandible in both the horizontal and sagittal planes. Microcomputed tomography results showed that the mandible on the tumour-bearing side displayed obvious erosion damage. Cell lines with various passage rates clearly had diverse tumour-bearing life cycles.

Conclusion: This study successfully established an animal model of oral squamous cell carcinoma invasion of the mandible. The model has excellent biological stability, repeatability, tumorigenesis rate and mandible destruction rate.