Mimicking and surpassing the xenograft model with cancer-on-chip technology.

ABSTRACT: Organs-on-chips are in vitro models in which human tissues are cultured in microfluidic compartments with a controlled, dynamic micro-environment. Specific organs-on-chips are being developed to mimic human tumors, but the validation of such 'cancer-on-chip' models for use in drug development is hampered by the complexity and variability of human tumors. An important step towards validation of cancer-on-chip technology could be to first mimic cancer xenograft models, which share multiple characteristics with human cancers but are significantly less complex. Here we review the relevant biological characteristics of a xenograft tumor and show that organ-on-chip technology is capable of mimicking many of these aspects. Actual comparisons between on-chip tumor growth and xenografts are promisi

SUBMITTER: Komen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8024912 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature