Abstract
Multicellular tumor spheroids (MTS) have certain characteristics similar de novo solid tumors. They contain such extracellular matrix as fibronectin, laminin, collagen and hyaluronic acid, comprise a chronically hypoxic cell population in core and show heterogeneous cell cycle times. Comparison of the three-dimensional culture methods (MTS) with two-dimensional culture methods (monolayer) has shown differences in the behavior of chemotherapeutic drug responses. Generally, monolayer culture methods are over estimate drug responses. Practical applications of MTS is significant for drug sensitivity test. Biopsy material from human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma was cut with scalpels into pieces less than 0.5mm in diameter and maintained in agar plate by liquid overlay culture technique. A head and neck tumor is composed not only of tumor cells, but also of normal mesenchymal, endothelial, lymphocyte, macrophages and fibroblast. Therefore heterogeneous cultures of tumor cells, currently used for chemosensitivity test should be accurately model in situ tumor.
In this paper, we discussed the merit and demerit of chemosensitivity testing using MTS.
