Syngeneic Murine Metastasis Models: B16 Melanoma

The murine B16 melanoma is one of the most used tumor models, its application having been used to determine the mechanisms associated with the metastatic process and the development of anticancer therapies. The B16 melanoma was originally established by Fidler and collaborators as a tumor line metastasizing to the lung. Since that time a variety of cell lines have been derived, in vitro or in vivo, having different metastatic behaviors. The methods used to obtain artificial metastases to the lung through the intravenous injection of B16 melanoma cells and spontaneous metastasis formation following cancer cell growth in the footpad are described in this chapter.