Ferreira Tiago, Gama Adelina, Seixas Fernanda, Faustino-Rocha Ana I, Lopes Carlos, Gaspar Vítor M, Mano João F, Medeiros Rui, Oliveira Paula A
Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-Food Production (Inov4Agro), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
Vet Sci. 2023 May 30;10(6):379. doi: 10.3390/vetsci10060379.
Breast cancer is one of the most common and well-known types of cancer among women worldwide and is the most frequent neoplasm in intact female dogs. Female dogs are considered attractive models or studying spontaneous breast cancer, whereas female rats are currently the most widely used animal models for breast cancer research in the laboratory context. Both female dogs and female rats have contributed to the advancement of scientific knowledge in this field, and, in a "One Health" approach, they have allowed broad understanding of specific biopathological pathways, influence of environmental factors and screening/discovery of candidate therapies. This review aims to clearly showcase the similarities and differences among woman, female dog and female rat concerning to anatomical, physiological and histological features of the mammary gland and breast/mammary cancer epidemiology, in order to better portray breast tumorigenesis, and to ensure appropriate conclusions and extrapolation of results among species. We also discuss the major aspects that stand out in these species. The mammary glands of female dogs and women share structural similarities, especially with respect to the lactiferous ducts and lymphatic drainage. In contrast, female rats have only one lactiferous duct per nipple. A comprehensive comparison between humans and dogs is given a special focus, as these species share several aspects in terms of breast/mammary cancer epidemiology, such as age of onset, hormonal etiology, risk factors, and the clinical course of the disease. Holistically, it is clear that each species has advantages and limitations that researchers must consider during the development of experimental designs and data analysis.
乳腺癌是全球女性中最常见且广为人知的癌症类型之一，也是未绝育雌性犬类中最常见的肿瘤。雌性犬类被认为是研究自发性乳腺癌的有吸引力的模型，而雌性大鼠是目前实验室环境中乳腺癌研究最广泛使用的动物模型。雌性犬类和雌性大鼠都推动了该领域科学知识的进步，并且，以“同一健康”的方法，它们有助于广泛了解特定的生物病理途径、环境因素的影响以及候选疗法的筛选/发现。本综述旨在清晰展示女性、雌性犬类和雌性大鼠在乳腺的解剖学、生理学和组织学特征以及乳腺/乳腺癌流行病学方面的异同，以便更好地描绘乳腺肿瘤发生过程，并确保在不同物种间得出恰当的结论和外推结果。我们还将讨论这些物种中突出的主要方面。雌性犬类和女性的乳腺在结构上有相似之处，特别是在输乳管和淋巴引流方面。相比之下，雌性大鼠每个乳头只有一条输乳管。对人类和犬类进行了全面比较并给予特别关注，因为这些物种在乳腺/乳腺癌流行病学的几个方面存在共性，如发病年龄、激素病因、风险因素以及疾病的临床病程。总体而言，很明显每个物种都有其优势和局限性，研究人员在实验设计和数据分析过程中必须加以考虑。
