Brain tumors’ severity ranges from benign to highly aggressive and invasive. Bioengineering tools can assist in understanding the pathophysiology of these tumors from outside the body and facilitate development of suitable antitumoral treatments. Here, we first describe the physiology and cellular composition of brain tumors. Then, we discuss the development of three-dimensional tissue models utilizing brain tumor cells. In particular, we highlight the role of hydrogels in providing a biomimetic support for the cells to grow into defined structures. Microscale technologies, such as electrospinning and bioprinting, and advanced cellular models aim to mimic the extracellular matrix and natural cellular localization in engineered tumor tissues. Lastly, we review current applications and prospects of hydrogels for therapeutic purposes, such as drug delivery and co-administration with other therapies. Through further development, hydrogels can serve as a reliable option for in vitro modeling and treatment of brain tumors for translational medicine.

中文翻译：

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用于脑肿瘤培养和治疗的工程水凝胶。

脑肿瘤的严重程度从良性到高度侵袭性和侵袭性不等。生物工程工具可以帮助从体外了解这些肿瘤的病理生理学，并促进合适的抗肿瘤治疗的开发。在这里，我们首先描述脑肿瘤的生理学和细胞组成。然后，我们讨论了利用脑肿瘤细胞开发三维组织模型。我们特别强调了水凝胶在为细胞生长成特定结构提供仿生支持方面的作用。微尺度技术，如静电纺丝和生物打印，以及先进的细胞模型，旨在模拟工程肿瘤组织中的细胞外基质和自然细胞定位。最后，我们回顾了水凝胶用于治疗目的的当前应用和前景，例如药物递送和与其他疗法的共同给药。通过进一步的开发，水凝胶可以作为转化医学脑肿瘤体外建模和治疗的可靠选择。