Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 29, 2025
Generation of Heterogeneous Drug Gradients Across Cancer Populations on a Microfluidic Evolution Accelerator for Real-Time Observation
Published on: September 19, 2019
Organ-on-Chip platforms to study tumor evolution and chemosensitivity
Venzil Lavie Dsouza1, Raviprasad Kuthethur1, Shama Prasada Kabekkodu1
1Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India.
Abstract:
Despite tremendous advancements in oncology research and therapeutics, cancer remains a primary cause of death worldwide. One of the significant factors in this critical challenge is a precise diagnosis and limited knowledge on how the tumor microenvironment (TME) behaves to the treatment and its role in chemo-resistance. Therefore, it is critical to understand the contribution of a heterogeneous TME in cancer drug response in individual patients for effective therapy management. Micro-physiological systems along with tissue engineering have facilitated the development of more physiologically relevant platforms, known as Organ-on-Chips (OoC). OoC platforms recapitulate the critical hallmarks of the TME in vitro and subsequently abet in sensitivity and efficacy testing of anti-cancer drugs before clinical trials. The OoC platforms incorporating conventional in vitro models enable researchers to control the cellular, molecular, chemical, and biophysical parameters of the TME in precise combinations while analyzing how they contribute to tumor progression and therapy response. This review discusses the application of OoC platforms integrated with conventional 2D cell lines, 3D organoids and spheroid models, and the organotypic tissue slices, including patient-derived and xenograft tumor slice cultures in cancer treatment responses. We summarize the relevance and drawbacks of conventional in vitro models in assessing cancer treatment response, challenges and limitations associated with OoC models, and future opportunities enabled by the OoC technologies towards developing personalized cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
Insights
Organ-on-Chips (OoC) platforms offer advanced in vitro models for cancer research. These systems improve understanding of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and aid in predicting patient-specific drug responses for personalized cancer therapy.
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.
More Related Videos
10:513D Cell-Printed Hypoxic Cancer-on-a-Chip for Recapitulating Pathologic Progression of Solid Cancer
Published on: January 5, 2021
09:53Quantifying the Brain Metastatic Tumor Micro-Environment using an Organ-On-A Chip 3D Model, Machine Learning, and Confocal Tomography
Published on: August 16, 2020