The utility of fecal corticosterone metabolites and animal welfare assessment protocols as predictive parameters of tumor development and animal welfare in a murine xenograft model

Kirsten Rosenmaj Jacobsen, Pernille Schønning Jørgensen, Christian Bressen Pipper, Astrid Margrethe Steffensen, Jann Hau, Klas S P Abelson

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8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utility of various non-invasive parameters for the prediction of tumor development and animal welfare in a murine xenograft model in male C.B-17 SCID (C.B-Igh-1(b)/IcrTac-Prkdc(scid)) mice. The study showed that body weight, food and water consumption, and an animal welfare assessment (AWA) protocol revealed marked differences between control and cancer lines as the size of the tumor increased. However, only the AWA protocol was effective in predicting the tumor size and the level of fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM). FCM levels were, however, negatively-correlated to the AWA score, and the tumor size, both when evaluated on a given day and when accumulated over the entire period. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that body weight and food and water consumption were negatively-affected as tumor developed but only the animal welfare protocol could be used to predict tumor size.
Original languageEnglish
JournalIn Vivo
Volume27
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)189-96
Number of pages8
ISSN0258-851X
Publication statusPublished - 2013

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