Organ-on-Chip platforms to study tumor evolution and chemosensitivity

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biotechnology
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Cancer remains a leading cause of death globally, with treatment efficacy often limited by chemo-resistance.
• Understanding the tumor microenvironment (TME) and its heterogeneity is crucial for effective cancer diagnosis and therapy.
• Conventional in vitro models have limitations in fully recapitulating the complex TME dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the application of Organ-on-Chips (OoC) platforms in cancer research.
• To explore how OoC models, integrated with various in vitro systems, assess anti-cancer drug responses.
• To discuss the potential of OoC technology for personalized cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on Organ-on-Chips (OoC) applications in oncology.
• Discussion of OoC integration with 2D cell lines, 3D organoids, spheroid models, and organotypic tissue slices.
• Analysis of OoC platforms in evaluating cancer treatment sensitivity and efficacy.

Main Results:

• OoC platforms provide physiologically relevant in vitro models that mimic key TME characteristics.
• Integration of OoC with diverse models (cell lines, organoids, tissue slices) allows for controlled analysis of TME parameters.
• OoC facilitates pre-clinical testing of anti-cancer drugs, improving prediction of patient-specific responses.

Conclusions:

• OoC technology holds significant promise for advancing personalized cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
• Overcoming challenges in OoC development will further enhance their utility in predicting drug response.
• OoC platforms represent a critical step towards more effective and individualized cancer treatment strategies.