Can tissue engineering concepts advance tumor biology research?

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 125 - 133
• Main Authors: Hutmacher, Dietmar W, Loessner, Daniela, Rizzi, Simone, Kaplan, David L, Mooney, David J, Clements, Judith A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, MA Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2010; [London]: Elsevier Science; Cell Press; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Bioreactors; Biotechnology; Breast cancer; Extracellular Matrix - pathology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health. Pharmaceutical industry; Humans; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Internal Medicine; Medical research; Miscellaneous; Models, Biological; Neoplasms - pathology; Studies; Tissue Culture Techniques - methods; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds; In vivo; Bioreactor; Three dimensional culture; Tissue engineering; Tumor; Biology; Models; Review; Scaffold; Hydrogel; Carcinogenesis; In vitro
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2009.12.001

Advances in tissue engineering have traditionally led to the design of scaffold- or matrix-based culture systems that better reflect the biological, physical and biochemical environment of the natural extracellular matrix. Although their clinical applications in regenerative medicine tend to receive most of the attention, it is obvious that other areas of biomedical research could be well served by the powerful tools that have already been developed in tissue engineering. In this article, we review the recent literature to demonstrate how tissue engineering platforms can enhance in vitro and in vivo models of tumorigenesis and thus hold great promise to contribute to future cancer research.