[Comparison of the nude mice xenograft and chick embryo systems].

A comparative study on tumorigenicity was carried out in which two Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome-positive epithelial cell lines (A2L/AH and NPC-KT) were tested in nude mice xenograft system and chick embryo system. When two cell lines were inoculated subcutaneously in nude mice and on chorioallantonic membrane of the chick embryo, respectively, tumors developed in both systems. Histologically, both tumors were undifferentiated carcinoma. The tumor in chick embryo system developed within two days after inoculation, whereas the tumor in nude mice xenograft system developed 3 weeks after inoculation. These results suggest that the antitumor activity of drugs can evaluated faster, cheaper and easier by the chick embryo system compared with nude mice xenograft assay.