In vitro three-dimensional cancer metastasis modeling： Past, present, and future

• Published in: Chinese physics B 2016-01, Vol.25 (1), p.360-369
• Main Author: 韩伟静 袁伟 朱江瑞 樊琪慧 屈军乐 刘雳宇
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cancer; Drugs; Evolutionary; Fluid flow; In vitro testing; Mathematical models; Three dimensional models; Tumors; 三维模型; 体外; 分子机制; 死亡原因; 生物学领域; 生物物理学; 肿瘤生长; 肿瘤转移
• ISSN: 1674-1056; 2058-3834; 1741-4199
• DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/25/1/018709

Metastasis is the leading cause of most cancer deaths, as opposed to dysregulated cell growth of the primary tumor. Molecular mechanisms of metastasis have been studied for decades and the findings have evolved our understanding of the progression of malignancy. However, most of the molecular mechanisms fail to address the causes of cancer and its evolutionary origin, demonstrating an inability to find a solution for complete cure of cancer. After being a neglected area of tumor biology for quite some time, recently several studies have focused on the impact of the tumor microenvironment on cancer growth. The importance of the tumor microenvironment is gradually gaining attention, particularly from the per- spective of biophysics. In vitro three-dimensional （3-D） metastatic models are an indispensable platform for investigating the tumor microenvironment, as they mimic the in vivo tumor tissue. In 3-D metastatic in vitro models, static factors such as the mechanical properties, biochemical factors, as well as dynamic factors such as cell-cell, cell-ECM interactions, and fluid shear stress can be studied quantitatively. With increasing focus on basic cancer research and drug development, the in vitro 3-D models offer unique advantages in fundamental and clinical biomedical studies.