The Chick Embryo Chorioallantoic Membrane Model: A Research Approach for Ex Vivo and In Vivo Experiments

Background: The chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model has attracted a great deal of interest in pharmaceutical and biological research as an alternative or complimentary in vivo assay to animal models. Traditionally, CAM assay has been widely used to perform some toxicological studies, specifically to evaluate the skin, ocular and embryo toxicity of new drugs and formulations, and to perform angiogenesis studies. Due to the possibility to generate the tumors onto the CAM, this model has also become an excellent strategy to evaluate the metastatic potential of different tumours and to test the efficacy of novel anticancer therapies in vivo. Moreover, in the recent years, its use has considerably grown in other research areas, including the evaluation of new anti-infective agents, the development of biodistribution studies and in tissue engineering research. Objective: This manuscript provides a critical overview of the use of CAM model in pharmaceutical and biological research, especially to test the toxicity of new drugs and formulations and the biodistribution and the efficacy of novel anticancer and anti-infective therapies, analyzing its advantages and disadvantages in comparison to animal models. Conclusion: The chick chorioallantoic membrane model shows a great utility in several research areas, such as cancer, toxicology, biodistribution studies and anti-infective therapies. In fact, it has become an intermediate stage between in vitro experiments and animal studies, and, in the case of toxicological studies (skin and ocular toxicity), it has even replaced the animal models.