A Novel Hydrogel-Based 3D In Vitro Tumor Panel of 30 PDX Models Incorporates Tumor, Stromal and Immune Cell Compartments of the TME for the Screening of Oncology and Immuno-Therapies.

Human-relevant systems that mimic the 3D tumor microenvironment (TME), particularly the complex mechanisms of immuno-modulation in the tumor stroma, in a reproducible and scalable format are of high interest for the drug discovery industry. Here, we describe a novel 3D in vitro tumor panel comprising 30 distinct PDX models covering a range of histotypes and molecular subtypes and cocultured with fibroblasts and PBMCs in planar (flat) extracellular matrix hydrogels to reflect the three compartments of the TME-tumor, stroma, and immune cells. The panel was constructed in a 96-well plate format and assayed tumor size, tumor killing, and T-cell infiltration using high-content image analysis after 4 days of treatment.