Development and Applications of Patient-Derived Xenograft Models in Humanized Mice for Oncology and Immune-Oncology Drug Discovery

With the recent approval of four novel immune oncology agents for the treatment of various cancers, the emerging power of this drug class has been substantiated. However, the full potential of such agents is yet to be realized, with only a fraction of the patient population responding to these drugs. A more advanced pre-clinical and translational research platform may increase our understanding of the mechanisms associated with immune-mediated cancer cell death, thereby facilitating the design and development of more generally efficacious agents and drug regimens. Described in this report are the nuances, advantages, and limitations of such a research approach. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.