The nude rat as an orthotopic model for cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE The purposes of this study were to establish intracervical tumors of the nude rat as an orthotopic experimental model for human cervical cancer and to preliminary evaluate the effects of the adenoviral vector, Ad5CMV-p53, on orthotopic cervical tumor size. METHODS Human cervical cancer SiHa and ME-180 cells were injected into the cervix of the nude rat. Four days later, 1 x 10(9) plaque forming units (PFU) of Ad5CMV-p53 were injected into the cervix. The rats were later sacrificed to determine cervical tumor size. RESULTS Eight of ten nude rats developed SiHa cell tumors; all ten nude rats developed ME-180 cell tumors. Four of ten SiHa cell tumors metastasized to the pelvic cavity; no ME-180 cell tumors did. The growth of Ad5CMV-p53-infected cells was greatly suppressed. The ad5CMV-p53 treatment significantly reduced both cell tumor volumes in nude rat cervixes. CONCLUSION The nude rat cervix grows tumors similar to human cervical cancer tumors and makes an excellent experimental model. Transfection of cervical cancer cells with the wild-type p53 gene via Ad5CMV-p53 is a potential therapeutic approach to cervical cancer.