In Vivo Imaging of Orthotopic Lung Cancer Models in Mice

The success of anticancer interventions relies on their ability to ignite an anticancer immune response and to reinstate cancer immunosurveillance. Thus, high dose crizotinib can induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) in cancer cells. If combined with cisplatin, crizotinib sensitizes non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) to subsequent (but not simultaneous) immunotherapy with PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade, facilitating the cure of more than 90% of established orthotopic cancers in mice. Here, we detail protocols for the establishment and monitoring of transplantable orthotopic NSCLCs in syngeneic immunocompetent animals. Indeed, TC1 cells establish lung cancer upon their intravenous injection into the tail vein, while Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells can be implanted intrathoracically to generate lung cancers. If transduced with luciferase, both TC1 and LLC cells form tumors that can be conveniently monitored by chemiluminescence. This type of NSCLC model is highly useful for the development of novel curative anticancer therapies.