Correlation of animal brain tumor models with human neuro-oncology.

The paper reviews the histopathology and cytopathology of a number of experimental animal brain tumor models to determine their relevance to human neuro-oncology. The models discussed include brain tumors produced by local implants of carcinogenic hydrocarbons and by the administration of resorptive N-nitroso compounds, some of the cell lines derived from the latter, tumors resulting from the intracerebral inoculation of oncogenic viruses, and the differentiating neuroepithelial component of a transplantable mouse teratoma. The structural and biochemical criteria that can be applied for the identification of the various stages of neuronal and glial cell maturation are highly precise. They reveal a wide diversity of tumor cell types that are now available in experimental neuro-oncogenesis.