Characterizing the Phenotypic Response of Endothelial Cells Cultured on Pro-Angiogenic In Vitro Tumor Mimics

Despite the 200 billion dollars invested in cancer therapy research and development since 1971, only 5% of new drugs entering clinical trials successfully obtain FDA approval [1, 2]. There is a growing concern in the cancer research community that this slow movement in progress stems from the need for improved preclinical models for testing new therapeutic agents [1]. A burgeoning interface between cancer research and tissue engineering is transforming how tumor development is being studied in vitro. As a result, complex 3D cancer cell culture models are beginning to be developed with phenotypes representative of in vivo cancer progression [3].