# Genetically engineered mouse models

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/genetically-engineered-mouse-models/  
OnCo record `genetically-engineered-mouse-models` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Mice carrying the same mutations as human cancers so that tumours arise in the right tissue with an intact immune system; the KPC pancreatic model is the best known.

## Summary

Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) use tissue-specific promoters and inducible systems to switch on oncogenes such as Kras and delete tumour suppressors such as Trp53 or Pten, so tumours develop in situ with a native stroma and immune system. The KPC pancreatic cancer model, Kras-driven lung models and Pten-null prostate models are used to study tumour evolution, immunotherapy and prevention, and CRISPR now speeds model creation. They are slow, expensive and less genetically diverse than human tumours.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Principle: Cre-lox or inducible recombination activates or deletes cancer genes in a chosen cell type, producing autochthonous tumours over weeks to months.
- Strengths: Intact immune system and native microenvironment; Tumour initiation and evolution can be studied; Test prevention and early detection
- Limitations: Slow and costly; Few driver mutations compared with human tumours; Mouse-specific biology

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_mouse
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_mouse

## Connected records

- cancers: [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)
- fronts: [Drug Discovery Platforms](https://onco.cc/fronts/drug-discovery/)
- technologies: [Patient-derived organoids](https://onco.cc/technologies/organoids/), [Patient-derived xenografts](https://onco.cc/technologies/pdx-models/)

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