Complex Approaches to Modeling the Tumor Microenvironment

Dear Colleagues,

This invitation is asking for significant contributions to the field of organotypic model systems, with the specific goal of mimicking the complexity of cancer biopsies. While numerous model systems exist, from a plethora of cancer cell lines to organoids and xenografts, most of these are of a highly reductionist nature and are not capable of even remotely recapitulating the heterogeneity of genuine cancer tissues. These models typically fail to represent the composition of the tumor microenvironment, which consists of various types and subtypes of stromal cells, including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), endothelial cells (blood and lymph vessels), and a broad spectrum of immune cells that invade primary cancers. This outstanding intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity is also pivotal for responses against the resistance of tumors to therapies, including radiation, generic cytostatic and targeted anti-cancer drugs, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and CAR-T cell therapeutics. There is an unmet need for more complex, more representative, and more physiologically relevant model systems in translational and clinical cancer research, personalized medicine, and early-stage drug discovery. The focus of contributions should be on recapitulating key aspects of the heterogeneity and complexity of solid cancers, ideally in the form of reproducible in vitro model systems and robust assay formats, allowing high-content imaging and thorough biological analyses.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Journal.

Dr. Matthias Nees
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• tumor models
• tumor cell heterogeneity
• tumor microenvironment (TME)
• extracellular matrix (ECM)
• tumor stroma
• tumor vasculature
• tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)
• immune checkpoint inhibitors
• immune oncology