Modelling human prostate cancer: rat models

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, affecting approximately 1.1 million men worldwide. In this way, the study of prostate cancer biopathology and the study of new potential therapies is of paramount importance. Several rat models were developed over the years to study prostate cancer, namely spontaneous models, chemically-induced models, implantation of cancer cell lines and genetically-engineered models. This manuscript aimed to provide the readers with an overview of the rat models of prostate cancer, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages, as well as, their applications.