Medical Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Mol Carcinog. 2013 Mar;52(3):167-82. doi: 10.1002/mc.21844. Epub 2011 Dec 7.
Tissues are three-dimensional (3D) entities as is the tumor that arises within them. Though disaggregated cancerous tissues have produced numerous cell lines for basic and applied research, it is generally agreed that these lines are poor models of in vivo phenomena. In this review we focus on in vitro 3D models used in cancer research, particularly their contribution to molecular studies of the early stages of metastasis, angiogenesis, the tumor microenvironment, and cancer stem cells. We present a summary of the various formats used in the field of tissue bioengineering as they apply to mechanistic modeling of cancer stages or processes. In addition we list studies that model specific types of malignancies, highlight drastic differences in results between 3D in vitro models and classical monolayer culturing techniques, and establish the need for standardization of 3D models for meaningful preclinical and therapeutic testing.
组织是三维（3D）实体，其中发生的肿瘤也是如此。尽管分散的癌组织已经为基础和应用研究产生了许多细胞系，但人们普遍认为这些细胞系是体内现象的不良模型。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了用于癌症研究的体外 3D 模型，特别是它们对转移、血管生成、肿瘤微环境和癌症干细胞等早期阶段分子研究的贡献。我们总结了组织生物工程领域中使用的各种格式，因为它们适用于癌症阶段或过程的机制建模。此外，我们列出了模拟特定类型恶性肿瘤的研究，强调了 3D 体外模型与经典单层培养技术之间结果的巨大差异，并确定了为有意义的临床前和治疗测试标准化 3D 模型的必要性。
