Establishment of a synovial sarcoma model in athymic nude mice.

BACKGROUND Synovial sarcoma represents one of the most frequent malignant tumours of soft tissues. Its prognosis is poor because of chemoresistance and high metastatic potential. Improvement of synovial sarcoma outcome requires well-characterized animal models in which to evaluate novel therapeutic options. The aim of this study was to establish a reproducible synovial sarcoma model in athymic nude mice with the SW-982 cell line. MATERIALS AND METHODS The SW-982 cell line was cultured in vitro and 5 × 10(6) cells undergoing exponential growth were collected and subcutaneously inoculated as a 0.1 ml suspension into the left flank of athymic nude mice. The sarcoma xenografts were subsequently analysed by histological and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS All the mice transplanted with SW-982 cells engrafted, leading to solid tumours of up to 2105 mm(3) volume after 4 weeks. Histological and immunohistochemical staining confirmed the mouse xenografts as synovial sarcoma. CONCLUSION An easily established in vivo xenograft model of synovial sarcoma is presented.