Biofabrication technologies for developing in vitro tumor models

Abstract

Despite having yielded extensive breakthroughs in cancer research, traditional 2D cell cultures have limitations in studying cancer progression and metastasis and screening therapeutic candidates. 3D systems can allow cells to grow, migrate, and interact with each other and the surrounding matrix, resulting in more realistic constructs. Furthermore, interactions between host tissue and developing tumors influence the susceptibility of tumors to drug treatments. The past decade has seen a rapid advancement of the application of 3D cellular systems to cancer research. These 3D tumor models, or tumor organoids, occupy a range of distinct form factors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and appropriateness for particular applications. In this chapter we highlight the major categories of tumor organoids and the methods by which they are biofabricated, aiming to provide the reader with an overview of the types of tumor organoids currently employed in cancer research applications.