Balb c nude cann cg foxn1nu crl mice

Balb-C Nude (CAnN.Cg-Foxn1nu/Crl) mice (n:28), age 9 weeks, were obtained from Charles River Laboratories. Mice were allocated in special rooms in specific cages, with technical staff, constantly supervising filters and air recirculation. Animals were fed sterile standard chow diet ad libitum and had free access to sterile water. Additionally, animals were constantly monitored to carry out euthanasia in case of excessive suffering or the presence of symptoms (such as infection) which would likely affect the experiment results. No animal was sacrificed prematurely during the experiment although one mouse from group SE4 died and was not included in the final analysis.

Mice were kept at the Central Animal Facility of the LUMC, which houses animals per EU Recommendation 2007-526-EC under specific pathogen-free conditions [19 (link)]. For all animal handlings, local standard operating procedures were followed. Six- to eight-week-old female BALB/c-Nude (CAnN.Cg-Foxn1nu/Crl) mice (Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, MA, USA) were subcutaneously inoculated on 4 spots on the back with either HT-29 or BxPC-3_luc2 cells (5.0 × 10⁵ cells/spot; 3 mice per group). Tumor growth was monitored by a digital caliper. Tumors of 50 mm³ were considered large enough for imaging. The local animal welfare body of the LUMC reviewed and approved all animal studies. Animals received humane care in compliance with the Code of Practice Animal Experiments in Cancer Research.