The chicken embryo is known to be immunotolerant to the introduction of human cancer cells. We present a newly developed chicken embryo model suitable for the investigation of the metastatic process and for testing drugs with antimetastatic potential. Fertilized 3 day old chicken eggs were transferred into Petri dishes, and incubated at 37°C. 5-10% of embryos remained viable for 7–10 days. 1x105 cells from 3 different breast cancer cell lines were injected on day 5 of embryonic development in the allantoic sac. Stereomicroscopy allowed us to monitor cancer cell movement in real time ex vivo. After 12 days, embryos were harvested, and livers were taken for further examination. Using histology, metastases were detected and semi quantitatively evaluated. We conclude that it is possible to use a chicken embryo as a live model for monitoring and observing the metastatic process, thereby highlighting this system as a unique and novel method for investigation of drugs with antimetastatic properties. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2004) 75, P60–P60; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2003.11.229
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D Gvozdjan (2004) studied this question.