Establishment of an orthotopic nude mouse model for recurrent pancreatic cancer after complete resection: an experimental animal study.

Purpose: This study created a nude mouse model to study pancreatic cancer recurrence. Circumstances leading to the highest recurrence rates after curative surgery were also analyzed.

Methods: A total of 135 nude mice were divided into 3 groups: sham, metastasis, and resection (45 mice in each group). In sham and resection groups, AsPc-1 cells suspended in a synthetic extracellular matrix were injected into the tail of the pancreas of each mouse. In the metastasis group, cells were injected into the spleen. After 3 weeks, the resection group underwent distal pancreatectomy and the metastasis group underwent diagnostic laparotomy to confirm metastasis. To assess disease recurrence, the resection group was monitored weekly using luminescence imaging. Diagnostic exploration was conducted 3 weeks after surgery. Recurrence rate was evaluated and histological examination was performed for the resection group.

Results: Among 45 mice, 43 developed cancerous masses in the tail of the pancreas without invading adjacent organs 3 weeks after the initial orthotopic injection. Of those 43 mice, one died due to intraoperative bleeding during complete surgical resection. Pancreatic cancer recurrence was observed in 37 of 42 mice (88.1%) at an average of 21.8 ± 2.2 days. Histological examination showed high nuclear pleomorphism and neoangiogenesis.

Conclusion: We developed an efficient model that could demonstrate recurrence after complete resection of pancreatic cancer. By confirming that recurrence occurs after surgery using this protocol, our model is expected to contribute to the development of various treatment strategies.