Fig. 1.

The complexity of the tumor microenvironment and its experimental models. (A) Owing to poor vascularization, tumor cells are exposed to different metabolic conditions according to their distance to blood vessels. Proximal cells readily obtain oxygen and nutrients, whereas distal cells endure a lack of resources and accumulation of metabolic byproducts. (B) Models of the tumor microenvironment. In vitro cultures provide a high level of experimental control, but they cannot capture key features of the tumor microenvironment. The complexity of in vivo models – and to some extent of 3D organoid cultures – comes at the cost of experimental control. The MEMIC allows for high complexity in vitro and ex vivo cultures while allowing for full experimental control.