Organoid cultures are remarkable in that they recapitulate accurate tissue growth within 3D cultures. When it comes to cancer organoids though, it is difficult to assess and quantify cancer invasiveness, especially for solid epithelial cancers. The Lonza RAFTTM System has been used to generate dense, cell-seeded collagen scaffolds. These can be tissue-engineered to produce cancer masses, which can then be nested into stromal compartments. Because of the two compartments, 3D tumouroid models allow for quantitation and morphology of cancer invasion and even predict metastatic potential.
Our use of biomimetic tumouroids to study and quantify invasion and growth of cancer has yielded exciting results. Using commercially available colorectal cancer cell lines cultured in 3D tumouroids, Pape and colleagues showed that tumouroid samples exhibit the same necrotic cores containing cellular debris, similar to with patient histology samples. Furthermore, the development of complex vascularised stroma within such tumouroid models was directly affected by cancer aggressiveness, alluding to the leaky vasculature often associated with fast growing cancers.
Tumouroids have a key role to play in the emerging field of complex, humanised in vitro models, to study biological phenomena.
The picture shows 3D cancer spheroid which invaded into the stromal compartment of the tumouroid, from the cancer mass.
Written by
Dr Umber Cheema
Associate Professor Tissue Engineering
Head of Education and Graduate Tutor (Research)
UCL Division of Surgery & Interventional Science, London
