Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide, particularly in elderly populations. To mitigate the expected increase in prostate cancer-related morbidity and mortality as a result of an expanding aged population, safer and more effective therapeutics are required. To this end, plenty of research is focusing on the mechanisms underlying cancer initiation and development, the metastatic process and on the discovery of new therapies. While animal models are used (mainly rats and mice) for the study of prostate cancer, alternative models and methods are increasingly being considered to replace, or at least reduce, the number of animals used in this particular field of research. In this review, we cover some of the alternative models that are currently available for use in the study of prostate cancer, including: mathematical models; 2-D and 3-D cell cultures; microfluidic devices; the chicken egg chorioallantoic membrane-based model; and zebrafish embryo-based models. The main advantages and limitations, as well as some examples of applications, are given for each type of model. According to our analysis, immortalised cell lines are still the most commonly used models in the field of prostate cancer research. However, the use of alternative models for prostate cancer research will likely become more prevalent in the coming years partly because of the increasing societal pressure to reduce the numbers of laboratory animals. In this context, the development and dissemination of effective non-animal alternative models assumes particular relevance and will be instrumental in leveraging their success. Taking these perspectives into account, we believe that technological advances will lead to more effective cell culture systems, namely 3-D cultures or organ-on-a-chip devices, which can be used to replace animal-based models in prostate cancer research.

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在前列腺癌研究背景下使用的当前替代模型概述

前列腺癌是全世界最常被诊断出的癌症之一，尤其是在老年人群中。为了减轻因人口老龄化而导致的前列腺癌相关发病率和死亡率的预期增加，需要更安全、更有效的治疗方法。为此，大量研究都集中在癌症发生和发展的机制、转移过程和新疗法的发现上。虽然动物模型（主要是大鼠和小鼠）用于前列腺癌的研究，但越来越多的人考虑替代模型和方法来替代或至少减少这一特定研究领域中使用的动物数量。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了一些目前可用于前列腺癌研究的替代模型，包括：数学模型；2-D 和 3-D 细胞培养；微流体装置；基于鸡蛋绒毛膜尿囊膜的模型；和基于斑马鱼胚胎的模型。给出了每种模型的主要优点和局限性，以及一些应用示例。根据我们的分析，永生化细胞系仍然是前列腺癌研究领域最常用的模型。然而，在未来几年，使用替代模型进行前列腺癌研究可能会变得更加普遍，部分原因是减少实验室动物数量的社会压力越来越大。在这种情况下，有效的非动物替代模型的开发和传播具有特别的相关性，并将有助于利用它们的成功。考虑到这些观点，