Innovative in vitro models for breast cancer drug discovery

Breast cancer is a complex group of diseases and is one of the most common cancers diagnosed worldwide. Many studies have shown that tumour progression and drug responses vary due to tumour heterogeneity caused by genetic mutations and aberrant protein expression and are also directly affected by the local tumour microenvironment. To identify new targets, and/or evaluate potential new chemotherapeutics, with the ultimate goal of improving success rates and thus available treatment options, in vitro cell culture systems incorporating global tumour complexity are needed. This review provides an overview of the recent developments with respect to in vitro 2D, 3D and microfluidics cell culture techniques which mimic tumourigenesis, thus providing advanced model systems able to predict clinical drug responses.