3D in vitro Models to Mimic the Tumor Microenvironment

A completely different approach to create a biologically relevant in vitro model is the culture of biological samples themselves in the form of tumor tissues or slices. In the recent years, two approaches have emerged more or less in parallel to create 3D in vitro models that are easy to control and reproduce while maintaining a high biological relevance. The first approach is a cell-based methodology that uses the cells own specific properties to create 3D culture systems involving spheroids, tumoroids, and organoids. The second approach uses a (biomedical) engineering methodology, where the design of the model is mainly driven by the researcher to investigate certain cellular functions and interactions. In the recent years, the term “organoid” has been focus of countless studies demonstrating the potential of the novel culture technique that is able to develop 3D organ-like in vitro models resembling key biological morphology, development, and characteristics.