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Review
. 2022 May 3;14(9):2284.
doi: 10.3390/cancers14092284.

In Vitro Human Cancer Models for Biomedical Applications

Jane Ru Choi  1 , Gül Kozalak  2   3 , Ighli di Bari  4 , Quratulain Babar  5 , Zahra Niknam  6 , Yousef Rasmi  7   8 , Kar Wey Yong  9
Affiliations
Review

In Vitro Human Cancer Models for Biomedical Applications

Jane Ru Choi et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and its incidence is steadily increasing. Although years of research have been conducted on cancer treatment, clinical treatment options for cancers are still limited. Animal cancer models have been widely used for studies of cancer therapeutics, but these models have been associated with many concerns, including inaccuracy in the representation of human cancers, high cost and ethical issues. Therefore, in vitro human cancer models are being developed quickly to fulfill the increasing demand for more relevant models in order to get a better knowledge of human cancers and to find novel treatments. This review summarizes the development of in vitro human cancer models for biomedical applications. We first review the latest development in the field by detailing various types of in vitro human cancer models, including transwell-based models, tumor spheroids, microfluidic tumor-microvascular systems and scaffold-based models. The advantages and limitations of each model, as well as their biomedical applications, are summarized, including therapeutic development, assessment of tumor cell migration, metastasis and invasion and discovery of key cancer markers. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspectives are briefly discussed.

Keywords: biomedical applications; cancer markers; human cancers; in vitro model; therapeutic development; tumor biology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transwell-based cancer model. (A) Basic cell invasion assay. Adapted with permission from [14] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2020). (B) Intravasation and extravasation assays. Adapted with permission from [18] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2021).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Tumor spheroids. (A) A device that allows long-term culture of hanging drop tumor spheroids. Adapted with permission from [30] © Elsevier (2021). (B) A multisize hanging drop tumor spheroid array. Adapted with permission from [32] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2021). (C) A microfluidic device that traps tumor cells in droplets for formation of tumor spheroids with uniform cell distribution. Adapted with permission from [33] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2021). (D) Tumor spheroid formation induced through magnetic levitation. Adapted with permission from [34] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2020).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Microfluidic tumor-microvascular model. (A) OrganoPlate tumor microvascular models with high throughput screening capabilities. Adapted with permission from [55] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2021). (B) A microfluidic chip with functional, cross-linked tumor microvascular networks. Adapted with permission from [57] © ACS Publications (2021).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Scaffold-based cancer model. (A) Preparation of decellularized extracellular matrix scaffold with different stiffness for in vitro cancer model development. Adapted with permission from [76] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2021). (B) Fabrication of a mechanically stable bioprinted scaffold-based cancer model. Adapted with permission from [77] © ACS Publications (2021).
Figure 5
Figure 5
In vitro human cancer models for T cell therapy development. Adapted with permission from [103] © Elsevier (2018).
Figure 6
Figure 6
In vitro human cancer models for photodynamic therapy development. Adapted with permission from [109] © ACS Publications (2020).
Figure 7
Figure 7
In vitro human cancer models for assessment of tumor biology. Adapted with permission from [123] © Creative Commons Attribution License (2019).
Figure 8
Figure 8
In vitro human cancer models for discovery of key prognostic cancer biomarkers. Adapted with permission from [136] © Elsevier (2019).
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