Head and neck cancers (HNCs) cause significant mortality and morbidity. There have been few advances in therapeutic management of HNC in the past 4 to 5 decades, which support the need for studies focusing on HNC biology. In recent years, increased recognition of the relevance of the host response in cancer progression has led to novel therapeutic strategies and putative biomarkers of tumor aggressiveness. However, tumor-immune interactions are highly complex and vary with cancer type. Pre-clinical, in vivo models represent an important and necessary step in understanding biological processes involved in development, progression and treatment of HNC. Rodents (mice, rats, hamsters) are the most frequently used animal models in HNC research. The relevance and utility of information generated by studies in murine models is unquestionable, but it is also limited in application to tumor-immune interactions. In this review, we present information regarding the immune-specific characteristics of the murine models most commonly used in HNC research, including immunocompromised and immunocompetent animals. The particular characteristics of xenograft, chemically induced, syngeneic, transgenic, and humanized models are discussed in order to provide context and insight for researchers interested in the in vivo study of tumor-immune interactions in HNC.

头颈癌（HNC）导致严重的死亡率和发病率。在过去的4至5年中，HNC的治疗管理方面几乎没有进展，这支持了针对HNC生物学研究的需求。近年来，人们越来越认识到宿主反应在癌症进展中的相关性，从而导致了新颖的治疗策略和肿瘤侵袭性的推测生物标志物。但是，肿瘤与免疫的相互作用非常复杂，并随癌症类型而变化。临床前的体内模型代表了理解HNC的发生，发展和治疗所涉及的生物学过程的重要而必要的步骤。啮齿动物（小鼠，大鼠，仓鼠）是HNC研究中最常用的动物模型。鼠模型研究产生的信息的相关性和实用性是毋庸置疑的，但它在肿瘤-免疫相互作用中的应用也受到限制。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了有关HNC研究中最常用的鼠模型（包括免疫功能低下和具有免疫能力的动物）的免疫特异性特征的信息。讨论了异种移植，化学诱导，同基因，转基因和人源化模型的特殊特征，以便为对体内研究HNC中的肿瘤-免疫相互作用感兴趣的研究人员提供背景和见识。