Accumulating evidence suggests that our ability to predict chemical effects on breast cancer is limited by a lack of physiologically relevant in vitro models; the typical in vitro breast cancer model consists of the cancer cell and excludes the mammary microenvironment. As the effects of the microenvironment on cancer cell behavior becomes more understood, researchers have called for the integration of the microenvironment into in vitro chemical testing systems. However, given the complexity of the microenvironment and the variety of platforms to choose from, identifying the essential parameters to include in a chemical testing platform is challenging. This review discusses the need for more complex in vitro breast cancer models and outlines different approaches used to model breast cancer in vitro. We provide examples of the microenvironment modulating breast cancer cell responses to chemicals and discuss strategies to help pinpoint what components should be included in a model.

中文翻译：

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模拟化学对乳腺癌的影响：体外微环境的重要性。

越来越多的证据表明，由于缺乏生理相关的体外模型，我们预测化学对乳腺癌影响的能力受到限制。典型的体外乳腺癌模型由癌细胞组成，不包括乳腺微环境。随着微环境对癌细胞行为的影响变得更加了解，研究人员呼吁将微环境整合到体外化学测试系统中。然而，考虑到微环境的复杂性和可供选择的平台的多样性，确定化学测试平台中包含的基本参数具有挑战性。这篇综述讨论了对更复杂的体外乳腺癌模型的需求，并概述了用于体外乳腺癌模型的不同方法。我们提供了调节乳腺癌细胞对化学物质反应的微环境的例子，并讨论了帮助确定模型中应包含哪些成分的策略。