Transgenic mice and squamous multistage skin carcinogenesis.

The use of animals models of human cancers has proved useful in the elucidation of molecular events which occur during tumour development. Mouse skin has been used as a model for human squamous cancer for a number of decades, and analysis of this model has identified a number of changes important for the evolution of malignancy. Transgenic mice offer a further avenue of advancement, allowing refinement of the model, and the ability to examine the consequences of individual events in vivo in greater detail. This article reviews the impact of transgenic approaches to our understanding of multistage squamous carcinogenesis in mouse skin.