Role of 3D tissue engineering models for human cancer and drug development

Abstract Tumor models of human cancer have played a vital role in the identification of carcinogens, understanding the complex and heterogeneous nature of carcinogenesis, and drug development. In spite of the great breakthrough in tumorigenesis and drug development, the rate of effective translation of the preclinical findings at clinical level is very minimal. Nonetheless 2D monolayer in vitro cell culture is the widely used experimental model in biomedical research which has played a vital role in the initial breakthrough in cancer biology but has limitations such as lack of the recapitulating potential of the cellular and molecular alterations associated with in vivo tumorigenesis. Alarming cancer incidence and lack of an effective therapeutic remedy have increased pressure for the development of an effective tumor model. To overcome drawbacks associated with 2D monolayer and other tumor models, the concept of 3D tissue engineering was given which has the recapitulating potential of human tumor characteristics such as tumor heterogeneity and a complex nature. This manuscript describes the 3D tumor model in human cancer and drug development.