IMR Press / FBE / Volume 9 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/E793

Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Review

Three dimensional tumor models for cancer studies

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1 Cancer Institute of University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
2 Department of Radiation Oncology of University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
3 Department of Biomedical Materials Science of University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
4 School of Dentistry of University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
5 Department of Biochemistry of University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Elite Ed) 2017, 9(1), 162–173; https://doi.org/10.2741/E793
Published: 1 January 2017
Abstract

It is well recognized that one of the major drawbacks of using traditional two dimensional cultures to model the living systems is inaccurately reflecting the physiological manner in which modulators, nutrients, oxygen, and metabolites are applied and removed. Moreover, the two dimensional culture system poorly reflects how different cell types interact with each other in the same microenvironment. Since the first global development of three dimensional (3D) cell culture techniques in the late 1960s, this last decade has seen an explosion of studies to promote 3D models in the fields of regenerative medicine and cancer. The recent surge of interest in 3D cell culture in cancer research is attributable to the interest in developing closer to real life models. The ability to include various cell types and extracellular components reflect more the physiological conditions of tumor microenvironment. In this short review, we will discuss different approaches of 3D culture system models and techniques with a focus on the 3D interactions of cancer cells with stromal cells in the goal to reevaluate old and develop new therapeutics.

Keywords
Three Dimensional Culture
3D Cell Culture
Tumor Spheroids
3D Scaffold
Bioprinting
Microfluidic
Drug Screening
Review.
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