Establishment and large-scale validation of a three-dimensional tumor model on an array chip for anticancer drug

Rong-Rong Xiao1, Lei Jin2, Nan Xie2

  • 1R&D Department, Beijing Daxiang Biotech Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.

Frontiers in Pharmacology
|October 31, 2022
PubMed

Insights

A novel three-dimensional (3D) micro-tumor model on a chip accurately predicts anticancer drug response, outperforming traditional 2D models and improving drug discovery efficiency.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Traditional 2D tumor models poorly predict drug response due to lacking tumor microenvironment.
  • Bridging the gap between 2D models and animal models requires better predictive tools.
  • Three-dimensional (3D) models offer a more biomimetic approach to cancer research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish a cost-effective, controllable 3D micro-tumor model on an array chip.
  • To validate the *in vivo* predictivity of this 3D model for anticancer drug evaluation.
  • To compare the performance of the 3D model against traditional 2D models and *in vivo* xenografts.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a matrigel-based 3D micro-tumor model on an array chip.
  • Large-scale evaluation of chemotherapeutic and targeted drugs against 27 cancer cell lines.
  • Comparison of drug response data from 3D model, 2D model, and *in vivo* cell-derived xenograft models.

Main Results:

  • The 3D tumor model exhibited spheroid morphology, slower proliferation, and comparable reproducibility to 2D models.
  • Drug resistance was identified in 17.6% of cases using the 3D model.
  • Targeted drugs showed improved sensitivity and specificity on the 3D model compared to the 2D model.
  • The 3D model's results closely aligned with *in vivo* xenograft models, filtering out 95% of false positives from 2D models.

Conclusions:

  • The matrigel-based 3D micro-tumor model on an array chip is a promising tool for anticancer drug discovery.
  • This 3D model enhances the accuracy of drug response prediction compared to 2D models.
  • The model accelerates the identification of effective anticancer therapies by improving *in vivo* predictivity.

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