Abstract

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy presenting typically during childhood and adolescence. However, few improvements of the survival outcomes for osteosarcoma patients have been achieved since the last three decades. Despite the rarity of the diagnosis, the complexity of tumor microenvironment and the genetic heterogeneity of osteosarcoma remain the major obstacles to understanding the mechanisms involved in tumor progression and metastasis, and to screening the pharmacologically active molecules for better drugs. Compared to the 2D cell culture system, 3D cell culture system is much closer to the in vivo physiological condition in tumor. Thus, 3D cell culture system could be a powerful technique to screen therapeutic agent towards personalized medicine in osteosarcoma.

Keywords: Osteosarcoma; 3D cell culture; Spheroid; Tumor microenvironment; Personalized medicine