Advances in cancer modeling: fluidic systems for increasing representativeness of large 3D multicellular spheroids

The representativeness of a cellular model is fundamental in pre-clinical cancer studies. Size, heterogeneity and perfusion are three key aspects characterizing the behavior of the tumor and driving its progression. In vitro resemblance of in vivo tumor conditions can be maximized by: (a) using heterogeneous large-sized three-dimensional (3D) multicellular models; (b) utilizing fluidic systems to modulate the culture microenvironment. This work discusses the benefits of using large-sized spheroids as 3D pre-clinical culture models, besides analyzing the microfluidic systems that permit their cultivation and manipulation in dynamic controlled conditions.