A microengineered pathophysiological model of early-stage breast cancer.

ABSTRACT: A mounting body of evidence in cancer research suggests that the local microenvironment of tumor cells has a profound influence on cancer progression and metastasis. In vitro studies on the tumor microenvironment and its pharmacological modulation, however, are often hampered by the technical challenges associated with creating physiological cell culture environments that integrate cancer cells with the key components of their native niche such as neighboring cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) to mimic complex microarchitecture of cancerous tissue. Using early-stage breast cancer as a model disease, here we describe a biomimetic microengineering strategy to reconstitute three-dimensional (3D) structural organization and microenvironment of breast tumors in human cell-based in vitro model

SUBMITTER: Choi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4524879 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature