Engineering cancer resistance in mice

Research on cancer has benefited enormously from the genetic manipulation of mice. Until recently, most of the emphasis has been put on tailoring genetic alterations to accelerate tumorigenesis or to recapitulate particular aspects of the tumorigenic process. The goal of engineering mice with an increased resistance to cancer is a novel aspect that is of importance to understand cancer susceptibility and to validate therapeutic and chemopreventive strategies. Here, we review the different mouse models described to date that manifest a 'cancer resistance' phenotype, with a particular emphasis on the molecular basis of the resistance and on the associated phenotypes that may have a negative impact on health.