The distinguished statistician, George E.P. Box, stated that “All models are wrong but some are useful” [1]. Whilst this aphorism was originally intended to describe the utility of statistical models, it can be considered an equally accurate narrative for the use of animal models in biomedical research. Indeed, animal models have played a key role in advancing our understanding of tumour biology and response to cancer treatments, especially radiotherapy. Since the first report of the tissue-sparing effects from Regaud and Nogier in 1911 [2], where they assessed the outcome of dose fractionation using a ram testicular model, animal models have been considered invaluable experimental tools, furthering our understanding of radiotherapy response at the cell, tissue, and whole-organism levels.
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