i3S, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Porto, Portugal.
IPATIMUP, Instituto de Patologia Molecular e Imunologia da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2020;1219:389-401. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-34025-4_20.
Cancers are complex tissues composed by genetically altered cancer cells and stromal elements such as inflammatory/immune cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and pericytes, neuronal cells, and a non-cellular component, the extracellular matrix. The complex network of interactions and crosstalk established between cancer cells and the supportig cellular and non-cellular components of the microenvironment are of extreme importance for tumor initiation and progression, strongly impacting the course and the outcome of the disease. Therefore, a better understanding of the tumorigenic processes implies the combined study of the cancer cell and the biologic, chemical and mechanic constituents of the tumor microenvironment, as their concerted action plays a major role in the carcinogenic pathway and is a key determinant of the efficacy of anti-cancer treatments. The use of animal models (e.g. Mouse, Zebrafish and Drosophila) to study cancer has greatly impacted our understanding of the processes governing initiation, progression and metastasis and allowed the discovery and pre-clinical validation of novel cancer treatments as it allows to recreate tumor development in a more pathophysiologic environment.
癌症是由遗传改变的癌细胞和基质成分（如炎症/免疫细胞、成纤维细胞、内皮细胞和周细胞、神经元细胞以及非细胞成分细胞外基质）组成的复杂组织。癌细胞与微环境中支持细胞和非细胞成分之间建立的复杂相互作用和串扰网络对于肿瘤的发生和进展至关重要，强烈影响疾病的进程和结果。因此，更好地理解肿瘤发生过程意味着需要综合研究癌细胞和肿瘤微环境的生物学、化学和力学成分，因为它们的协同作用在致癌途径中起着重要作用，并且是癌症治疗效果的关键决定因素。使用动物模型（例如小鼠、斑马鱼和果蝇）来研究癌症极大地促进了我们对控制起始、进展和转移的过程的理解，并允许发现和临床前验证新的癌症治疗方法，因为它可以在更接近生理病理的环境中重现肿瘤的发展。
