The liver is the most commonly involved organ in metastases from a wide variety of solid tumors. The use of biologically and cellularly complex liver tissue systems have shown that tumor cell behavior and therapeutic responses are modulated within the liver microenvironment and in ways distinct from the behaviors in the primary locations. These microphysiological systems have provided unexpected and powerful insights into the tumor cell biology of metastasis. However, neither the tumor nor the liver exist in an isolated tissue situation, having to function within a complete body and respond to systemic events as well as those in other organs. To examine the influence of one organ on the function of other tissues, microphysiological systems are being linked. Herein, we discuss extending this concept to tumor metastases by integrating complex models of the primary tumor with the liver metastatic environment. In addition, inflammatory organs and the immune system can be incorporated into these multi-organ systems to probe the effects on tumor behavior and cancer treatments.

肝脏是多种实体瘤转移中最常受累的器官。生物和细胞复杂的肝脏组织系统的使用表明，肿瘤细胞行为和治疗反应在肝脏微环境中受到调节，其方式与主要位置的行为不同。这些微生理学系统为肿瘤细胞转移生物学提供了意想不到的有力见解。然而，肿瘤和肝脏都不存在于孤立的组织中，它们必须在一个完整的体内发挥作用，并对全身事件以及其他器官的事件做出反应。为了检查一个器官对其他组织功能的影响，正在将微生理系统联系起来。在这里，我们讨论通过将原发肿瘤的复杂模型与肝转移环境相结合，将这一概念扩展到肿瘤转移。此外，炎症器官和免疫系统可以整合到这些多器官系统中，以探讨对肿瘤行为和癌症治疗的影响。