UNLABELLED: Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the development and characterization of patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) models for cancer research. PDX models mostly retain the principal histologic and genetic characteristics of their donor tumor and remain stable across passages. These models have been shown to be predictive of clinical outcomes and are being used for preclinical drug evaluation, biomarker identification, biologic studies, and personalized medicine strategies. This article summarizes the current state of the art in this field, including methodologic issues, available collections, practical applications, challenges and shortcomings, and future directions, and introduces a European consortium of PDX models. SIGNIFICANCE: PDX models are increasingly used in translational cancer research. These models are useful for drug screening, biomarker development, and the preclinical evaluation of personalized medicine strategies. This review provides a timely overview of the key characteristics of PDX models and a detailed discussion of future directions in the field.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer Unit Institute of Cancer Sciences University of Manchester Manchester United Kingdom;

Cambridge Cancer Centre Cambridge;

Candiolo Cancer Institute FPO IRCCS; and Department of Oncology University of Torino Candiolo Torino Italy

Catalan Institute of Oncology Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute L'Hospitalet de Llobregat Barcelona Spain;

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas Madrid;

Institut Curie Paris France;

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Leuven Belgium;

Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic;

Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway;

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Dublin Ireland;

The Netherlands Cancer Institute Amsterdam the Netherlands;

University Medical Centre Groningen Groningen;

Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology;

Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre Institute of Cancer Sciences University of Glasgow Glasgow;

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