Cited by 440Cancer Cells and Metastasis3D Printing in Biomedical ResearchMathematical Biology Tumor Growth

Three-Dimensional Spheroids as In Vitro Preclinical Models for Cancer Research

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Pinto, Bárbara, Henriques, Ana C., Silva, Patrícia M. A., Bousbaa, Hassan·2020·Pharmaceutics

Abstract

Most cancer biologists still rely on conventional two-dimensional (2D) monolayer culture techniques to test in vitro anti-tumor drugs prior to in vivo testing. However, the vast majority of promising preclinical drugs have no or weak efficacy in real patients with tumors, thereby delaying the discovery of successful therapeutics. This is because 2D culture lacks cell–cell contacts and natural tumor microenvironment, important in tumor signaling and drug response, thereby resulting in a reduced malignant phenotype compared to the real tumor. In this sense, three-dimensional (3D) cultures of cancer cells that better recapitulate in vivo cell environments emerged as scientifically accurate and low cost cancer models for preclinical screening and testing of new drug candidates before moving to expensive and time-consuming animal models. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of 3D tumor systems and highlight the strategies for spheroid construction and evaluation tools of targeted therapies, focusing on their applicability in cancer research. Examples of the applicability of 3D culture for the evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of nanomedicines are discussed.

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Authors
Pinto, B., Henriques, A. C., Silva, P. M. A., & Bousbaa, H.
Affiliations
  • Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário (PT)
  • Universidade do Porto (PT)
Corresponding author
Bousbaa, Hassan
Venue
Pharmaceutics
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2020-12-06
Volume
12
Issue
12
Pages
1186
ISSN
1999-4923 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3111112091
Cited by
440
References
273
Citations by year
2026: 64 · 2025: 97 · 2024: 103 · 2023: 89 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 31
FWCI
4.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Pharmaceutics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário (IMPLDEBRIS-PL-3RL-IINFACTS-2019, BD/CBAS/CESPU/01/2020)
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/116167/2016)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Cells and Metastasis
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › 3D Printing in Biomedical Research
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › Mathematical Biology Tumor Growth
Keywords
multicellular spheroids, 3D tumor models, tumor cell culture, tumor microenvironment, preclinical drug screening, targeted therapy

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