Dear Colleagues,

The lack of controllable preclinical models able to faithfully recapitulate the human cancer microenvironment impedes the development of novel therapies and limits our understanding of tumor etiology. Combining compartmentalized microfabricated platforms with advanced tissue engineering methods offers great potential for building biomimetic microfluidic models of human tissues and organs. These so-called ´organs-on-a-chip´ models have a unique capacity to, in vitro, recreate the biological complexity, mechanochemical cues, and fluid dynamics of native habitats of human cells and tissues, permitting the recapitulation of in vivo phenomena not achievable with traditional preclinical methods. Further, the inclusion of more complex 3D cellular structures, such as tumor organoids, and (bio)chemical signaling can recreate the interaction between cancer and its surrounding microenvironment in a more physiologically relevant manner, and, therefore, provide important clues to tumor etiology and progression.

Organ-on-a-chip technology has already provided key insights into organ and tissue pathophysiology and valuable information on drug efficacy, attracting significant attention from the industry and clinics as a result. In this regard, the use of organ-on-a-chip technology in oncology is a very promising method for the attainment of a better understanding of the mechanistic determinants of tumorigenesis, drug mechanisms of action or for evaluating the efficacy of therapies before testing them on patients. Currently, important efforts have been focused on adapting organ-on-a-chip platforms to the needs of targeted end-users, particularly clinicians. Despite the undeniable ability to reproduce the in vivo physiology and predict the response of therapeutics, this technology is still too complex and, in general, does not fulfill the strict requirements and functionality required by the clinical sector. For this reason, novel cutting-edge technologies have been applied to boost the clinical translation of organ-on-a-chip in oncology. Particularly, the use of standardized designs, the incorporation of analytical biosensors to detect and monitor predictive biomarkers, the compatibility with advanced imaging and conventional analytical techniques, the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for the processing of gathered data, the integration of human-based and personalized (bio)materials or the possibility to purchase already pre-established tissue models-on-a-chip are expected to boost the clinical acceptance of this technology, particularly when combined with an improvement on their automation and high-throughput properties.

Overall, organ-on-a-chip technology has countless possibilities in academic, industrial and clinical cancer research. We are confident in its ability to continue to offer exciting novel developments and discoveries in upcoming years. We invite all those working in this revolutionary field to contribute to this Special Issue with original research articles, reviews, commentaries and perspectives in all relevant areas of research.

Prof. Dr. Josep Samitier
Prof. Dr. Rui L. Reis
Dr. David Caballero
Guest Editors

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• tumor in vitro modelling
• microfluidics
• organ-on-a-chip
• tumor-on-a-chip
• 3D cell culture
• drug screening and dis-covery
• biosensors
• nanotechnology
• clinical applications
• personalized medicine