Invited Talk

Human 3D vascularised tumoroid model for glioblastoma angiogenesis

University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom

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Glioblastoma (GB) is a uniformly lethal brain cancer with an average survival of 14.6 months. The highly lethal nature of this tumour mainly originates from its exceptionally infiltrative and dispersive nature that contributes to tumour angiogenesis and metastasis thus limiting the extent to which surgery and radiotherapy can be utilised. Here, we use an in vitro vascularised tumoroid model to recapitulate how individual components of the GB’s complex brain microenvironment, such as low oxygen tension, vasculature-related stromal cells, and exogenous growth factors affect blood vessel formation. Although the model lacks perfusable vasculature and has no pre-existing capillary bed or blood brain barrier, it is complex enough to recapitulate features of GB angiogenesis, which have been observed in vivo.