The challenge of selecting the 'right' in vivo oncology pharmacology model.

The predictive value of non-clinical cancer pharmacology models has been poor with many drugs failing in the clinic that previously demonstrated anti-tumor responses in animal models. In the age of targeted drug discovery, the cancer pharmacologist is challenged with improving the translation of these models to a clinical setting. Various model systems currently utilized in preclinical cancer drug discovery are discussed and emphasis is placed on selecting models tailored to interrogate hypothesis-driven scientific questions.