The complexity of tumors cannot be accurately simulated by current tumoroid models. One of these limitations is poor vascularization in current tumor models, particularly the lack of tumor-specific blood vessels. Therefore, it is challenging to have a thorough discussion of many in vitro studies regarding the tumor vascular environment. To overcome this limitation, this study combines tumoroid and microfluidic technologies to develop a vascularized tumoroid-on-a-chip. This physiologically relevant colorectal tumoroid-on-a-chip enables self-assembly of tumor-associated vasculature and provides stable perfusion. It has the potential to better simulate the complex vascular environment of colorectal cancer, allowing for more accurate assessment. This study confirms the effectiveness of this model and verifies the variation in the response of tumoroid-on-a-chip models from different patients to FOLFOX plus bevacizumab. It also tests the sensitivity of several small-molecule anti-angiogenic drugs. These validations provide preliminary evidence supporting the reliability of the model and its potential utility in the future.
Dai et al. (2026) studied this question.