Long-term exposure of human U87 glioblastoma cells to polyethylene microplastics: Investigating the potential cancer progression.

Precancerous cells are present in all human bodies. Various environmental triggers can promote the development of cancer. Microplastics, an emerging concern, may potentially act as one such trigger, contributing to cancer initiation or progression.

Heterotypic tumor spheroids: a platform for nanomedicine evaluation.

Nanomedicine has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach, but its translation to the clinic has been hindered by the lack of cellular models to anticipate how tumor cells will respond to therapy. Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models are thought to more accurately recapitulate key features of primary tumors than two-dimensional (2D) cultures. Heterotypic 3D tumor spheroids, composed of multiple cell types, have become more popular than homotypic spheroids, which consist of a single cell type, as a superior model for mimicking in vivo tumor heterogeneity and physiology.