Three-dimensional heterotypic colorectal cancer spheroid models for evaluation of drug response

Research Overview

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and better preclinical models are needed to make treatment screening clinically relevant. Advances in 3D culture now recapitulate the architecture and heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment well enough to improve predictions of progression and drug response.

This review surveys heterotypic colorectal spheroid models that incorporate cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, immune cells, and even gut bacteria to mimic in vivo signaling. It examines how cellular heterogeneity within these spheroids exposes new therapeutic targets and enables testing of therapies aimed at the microenvironment itself rather than the tumor cell alone.