Table 1.

Strengths and Limitations of Various Models of Pancreatic Cancer and Pancreatitis

Pancreatic cancer models
Model	Strengths	Limitations
Subcutaneous xenograft model	Ease of establishment Ease of monitoring the tumor size Recapitulation of human tumor histology (eg, desmoplasia) with use of human pancreatic cancer xenografts Potential use of subcutaneous xenograft with pancreatic cancer tissue from patients in selecting therapy tailored to patient’s tumor	Unnatural milieu Lack of modulation of tumor growth by immune system Concerns regarding real representation of human disease by cell lines Lack of metastasis and locoregional spread
Orthotopic model	Tumor growth in natural milieu Locoregional and metastatic spread with aggressive cell lines Recapitulation of human tumor histology (eg, desmoplasia) with use of human pancreatic cancer xenografts	Technically challenging Difficult to monitor tumor size requiring advanced techniques such as ultrasound Lack of modulation of tumor growth by immune system
Genetically engineered model	Recapitulation of genetic changes of pancreatic cancer Use of immune-competent mice enables evaluation of effect of immune-surveillance on tumor growth	Concerns regarding relevance to human disease because the tumor’s genetic make-up is that of mouse Cost of establishment of mouse colonies Difficulty of monitoring tumor growth Long delay in development of tumors
Models of pancreatitis
Cerulein model	Convenient Rapid induction Reproducible Similar histologic changes as human disease Availability of corresponding in vitro model	Unknown clinical relevance Less severity
Choline-deficient ethionine supplementation diet model	Convenient Noninvasive	Unknown clinical relevance Contribution of hepatic and central nervous system changes to mortality, which is unchanged with pancreas-targeted therapies Lack of corresponding in vitro model
Arginine model	Convenient Rapid induction	Unknown clinical relevance Lack of corresponding in vitro model
Duct obstruction model	Rapid induction Clinically relevant	Invasive Mild severity
Duct infusion model	Rapid induction Clinically relevant Recapitulation of human disease in terms of severity and systemic changes Infusion of different component of bile can help dissect their role in acute pancreatitis	Invasive Difficult to establish the model