Xenograft Model

Animal experiment complied with the National Institutes of Health guide for the care and use of laboratory animals. The experiments were approved by the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC and conducted in accordance with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee guidelines of the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC. Cells (1×10⁶/100 mL/site) were injected into the flank of 4-week-old female BALB/c nude mice. Tumor growth curve was determined by measuring tumor volumes every week. After the sacrifice, the animals were harvested, measured, and weighed and Ki67 expression was determined by the immunohistochemistry method as previously described.¹³