Cancer is the second leading disease causing human death.Pre-clinical in vivo studies are essential for translating in vitro laboratory research results into the clinic.Rodents,including the mouse and rat,have been widely used for pre-clinical studies due to their small size,clear genetic backgrounds,rapid propagation,and mature transgenic technologies.However,because rodents are evolutionarily distinct from humans,many pre-clinical research results using rodent models cannot be reproduced in the clinic.Non-human primates（NHPs） may be better animal models than rodents for human cancer research because NHPs and humans share greater similarity in regards to their genetic evolution,immune system,physiology and metabolism.This article reviews the latest progress of cancer research in NHPs by focusing on the carcinogenesis of different NHPs induced by chemical and biological carcinogens.Finally,future research directions for the use of NHPs in cancer research are discussed.
Breast cancer is a common malignant tumor.It is essential to develop suitable animal models for discovering novel preventive and therapeutic approaches.Tree shrews（Tupaia belangeri chinensis） have a closer evolutionary relationship with humans than do rodents,which have been widely used in laboratory research.Spontaneous breast tumors were identified in tree shrews in 1960s;however,no detailed studies about tree shrew breast tumors have been conducted to date.Here,we characterized a spontaneous breast tumor from tree shrews by Haematoxylin Eosin（HE） staining.This tumor was identified as a papillary tumor.Immunohistochemical staining（IHC） for progesterone receptor（PR）,Ki-67 and cleaved caspase-3 showed that tumor cells were positive for PR,highly proliferative,and less apoptotic compared to normal breast epithelial cells.Thus,the spontaneous tumor of tree shrew is very close to human papillary tumors in terms of morphology and pathology and we concluded that tree shrew may be a suitable animal model for breast cancer research.
