Oliwia Stelmach, Dominika Leoniec-Czajka, Maria Walczak

Zebrafish model in experimental oncology – a systematic review of research focused on colorectal cancer and melanoma

2026-01-30

Subject of the Review. The article is a review of scientific publications based on preclinical studies addressing carcinogenesis and associated processes in colorectal cancer and melanoma, in which zebrafish were used as an animal model. Objective of the Review. The study aims to illustrate the range of possibilitiesoffered by the zebrafish model in cancer research, based on an analysis of studies focusing on colorectal cancer and melanoma.

Materials and Methods. The literature review was conducted using the PubMed, Mendeley, and ScienceDirect databases, applying the following keywords in different combinations: “cancer”, “zebrafish (Danio rerio)”, “colorectal neoplasms”, and “melanoma”. To clarify more advanced processes, concepts, and phenomena (such as immunoediting, long non-coding RNAs, small nucleolar host genes, or uveal melanoma), an auxiliary review was performed. The “Introduction” and sections concerning colorectal cancer and melanoma include current statistical data on cancer incidence and mortality (GLOBOCAN). The subsection “Melanoma” presents information on the histological similarity of tumors developing in both humans and zebrafish. Among the inclusion criteria for this systematic review were adequate relevance to the selected keywords, a recent publication date (articles from 2019–2025), applicable legal regulations, and the type and language of the article consistent with the study’s assumptions (review papers and original research articles written in English). The main subsections of this article (“Colorectal Cancer” and “Melanoma”) are based on ten original research papers. The information contained therein has been expanded and detailed using data from fifteen additional literature sources.

Results. Analyzed publications reveald a broad range of applications of the zebrafish model in preclinical oncology research. These include testing novel therapeutic compounds, developing personalized treatment strategies, characterizing mechanisms of acquired therapy resistance and evaluating approaches to overcome them, investigating modulation of immune cell functions within the tumor microenvironment, assessing the role of innate immunity in cancer immunoediting, estimating the influence of risk factors on the initiation of carcinogenesis, and studying the role of long non-coding RNAs and small nucleolar host genes in cancer progression.

Conclusions. Based on the reviewed studies on two selected malignancies, the zebrafish model has been confirmed as a valuable tool in preclinical cancer research. The findings support the rationale behind the growing interest in zebrafish as a laboratory organism in experimental oncology.

Keywords: carcinogenesis, Zebrafish, colorectal neoplasms, melanoma.

© Farm Pol, 2025, 81(7): 419–437