Organotypic 3D In Vitro Tumor Models: Bioengineering and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The development of organotypic 3D tumor models that can recapitulate the unique complexity of human in vivo tumors in an in vitro setting provides a unique opportunity to overcome the current limitations of gold standard platforms employed for fundamental cancer research and therapies discovery/screening. Bioengineered organotypic microtumors have been rapidly emerging as next-generation tumor modelling in in vitro platforms, owing to their potential for recapitulating human tumors microenvironment, including the complex tumor-ECM biophysical/biomolecular cues, as well as the diversity of malignant and stomal components in a tri-dimensional setting.

This Special Issue aims to merge advanced biomaterials and tissue bioengineering technologies with state-of-the-art medical knowledge, to showcase disruptive approaches for generating physiomimetic 3D in vitro tumor surrogates and to demonstrate their applicability in preclinical screening and tumor microenvironment modelling. It is envisioned that highlighting advanced bioengineering technologies will contribute to identifying the key building-blocks required for mimicking native tumors physiology, and for leveraging microtumors’ predictive potential in the foreseeable future. Reviews, articles and innovative protocols that explore advanced bioengineering approaches for generating organotypic 3D in vitro models that recapitulate the complexity of the tumor microenvironment, while being suitable for preclinical therapies screening, are welcome.

Dr. Vítor Gaspar
Prof. Dr. João F. Mano
Guest Editors

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