Organotypic spheroid cultures to study tumor-stroma interaction during cancer development

Metastasis, which is linked to the invasive properties acquired by the primary tumor during cancer progression, is the major life-threatening event in cancer patients. There is increasing evidence that the tumor stroma is involved in the infiltrative growth of malignant cells. Many models have been developed to study tumor/stroma interaction and 3D model systems represent the most promising approaches, because they closely mimic the situation in vivo. The main goal of these models is to better understand tumorigenesis and to discover novel therapeutic avenues to treat cancer.