Abstract 3934: Establishing a non-invasive direct injection method to achieve an orthotopic murine model of cervical cancer in immunocompetent mice

Abstract Current cervical cancer murine models consist of transgenic genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMS) that require multiple genetic mutations and/or hormone induction for spontaneous cervical cancer development. Other techniques used for studying cervical cancer in mice consist of subcutaneous injection of tumor cells and surgical implantation of tumor cells into the lower portion of the uterus. These approaches are useful for studying tumor cell behavior - growth and progression but are limited to their location and the use of immune-compromised mice models, and/or survival surgery. Attempts for tumor cell deposit into mice cervix have consisted of pretreating mice with hormones and irritating the cervix and vaginal canal prior to depositing tumor cells. Here, we focused on establishing a reproducible, reliable, non-surgical approach to orthotopic establishment of tumors directly into cervix of the immunocompetent mice. We hypothesized that this technique will not require hormone pre-treatment of mice and reliably establishes tumor cells within the cervix epithelium in mice. To test this hypothesis, we used TC1 murine cell line expressing E6 and E7 oncogenes and engineered to express luciferase to inject the cervix of mice through the urovaginal opening. We confirmed establishment of tumor cells in the cervix 3-hours post injection through bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and monitored tumor growth with BLI imaging every 3 days. Additionally, we confirmed tumor growth through micro-CT imaging every 7 days post injection. We identified that mice with cervix injection can be monitored up to 24-31 days post injection. Tumor histologic images confirm tumor establishment in cervix submucosa with local-regional spread, and lung metastasis, similar to the pattern of spread seen in human cervical cancers. While existing methods of orthotopic tumor establishment achieve a similar model of spread, this approach is minimally invasive and does not require breeding. Additional studies are ongoing to determine the success rate of desired cervical tumor establishment using this method and to discern molecular mechanisms of invasion and metastasis in cervical cancer. Citation Format: Marlene L. Campos Guerrero, Liyun Chen, Lori Strong, Stephanie Markovina. Establishing a non-invasive direct injection method to achieve an orthotopic murine model of cervical cancer in immunocompetent mice [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 3934.