Canine prostate models in preclinical studies of minimally invasive interventions: part I, canine prostate anatomy and prostate cancer models

The high prevalence of prostate cancer (PCa) in elderly men and technical advances in early detection of localized PCa have led to continued efforts to develop new therapeutic options of minimally invasive nature in current urologic oncology community. Increasing newly emerging therapies are undergoing preclinical tests on the technical feasibility, efficacy and safety in animal experiments. The dog is an ideal large animal because of its similar anatomy to human and the capability allowing the use of the same medical devices applied in future clinical trials. Awareness of the local anatomy, microvascular structure, and histological features of the prostate in dogs is essential to experimental design and performance of the tested procedures and techniques. Although dogs with spontaneous PCa may be used in preclinical investigation, the low incidence and pathological features limit its utility. Alternatively, canine orthotopic PCa models have a great potential in preclinical research for this purpose. The goal of this review is to provide detailed anatomic and histological information of the canine prostate, outline the pathological and clinical characteristics of spontaneous PCa in dogs and discuss the current status of canine orthotopic PCa models.