Table 4.

Advantages and limitations of ovarian cancer models. EMT—epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Ovarian Cancer Models	Advantages	Limitations
Fruit fly(Drosophila melanogaster)	Suitable for basic research Simple structure, short life cycle, easy propagation and maintenance Conserved DNA repair mechanisms and signaling pathways Border cells from ovary are suitable for migration, invasion, cellular mobility and EMT studies	Simple anatomy and physiology Simple immune system Tumors require induction and have a poor metastatic potential
Clawed frog(Xenopus laevis, Xenopus tropicallis)	Good model for studies of cell and developmental biology Conserved signaling pathways High fertility, cost-effective maintenance Can be suitable for studies on tumor immunity and anticancer immune response	Spontaneous tumors are rare Etiology of Xenopus ovarian cancer is not known Carcinogens used in mammals do not cause malignant tumors in X. laevis Suitable models of epithelial ovarian cancer must be developed
Mouse (Mus musculus)
Xenograft mouse models	Possibility of propagation of human cancers Tumor cells may be derived from a cell culture or patients’ tumor (PDX model) Good model of advanced disease Possibility to study the tumor microenvironment Suitable for drug response testing and validation of new therapies	Time consuming construction of the model High cost of model construction and maintenance of immunodeficient mice No host immune response Not suitable for immunotherapy and host–cancer cells interactions studies
PDX (patient-derived xenografts) mouse models	Retains the original characteristics of the tumor (histology, mutation status, changes in the number of DNA copies, gene expression) Contains elements of human tumor microenvironment (cancer stem cells, microvascularization, memory T cells) High correlation between PDX and patients’ clinical response	Time-consuming construction of the model High cost of model construction and maintenance Limited access to biological material Not suitable for immunotherapy and host–cancer cells interactions studies Human stroma elements are exchanged with time for mouse equivalents
Syngeneic mouse models	Good model for basic research and preclinical studies Immunocompetent host Possibility to test the anti-cancer immune response Possibility to study the tumor microenvironment, its vascularization, and epithelial–stromal interactions Reduced risk of infection in mice	Model based entirely on the animal system
Genetically-engineered mouse models	Good model for basic research and for studies on ovarian cancer initiation and progression Possibility to obtain tissue-specific modifications Ability to study the genetic events necessary for the initiation of carcinogenesis	Necessity of cancer induction Model difficult to design owing to poor understanding the tissue of origin of ovarian cancer Time-consuming and costly construction of the model Deficiency of tissue-specific promoters
Hen (Gallus domesticus)
Laying hen	Spontaneous development of cancer Short time of tumor formation Suitable for studies on genetic, biochemical, and environmental risk factors; initiation and progression of cancer; and its histological origin Different strains and genetic profiles	Anatomical and physiological differences between hens and humans Lower incidence of histological types that are predominant in humans No species-specific antibodies No knock-out models
Chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM)	Short time of tumor formation Possibility to study tumors derived from human cancer cell lines and PDX Rich vasculature and nutrient content of CAM Well-developed extracellular matrix of the tumor Suitable to study angiogenesis, tumor development and metastasis, drug-response, and so on Low costs	Short time from CAM formation to chicken hatching