Our understanding of the cellular composition and architecture of cancer has primarily advanced using 2D models and thin slice samples. This has granted spatial information on fundamental cancer biology and treatment response. However, tissues contain a variety of interconnected cells with different functional states and shapes, and this complex organization is impossible to capture in a single plane. Furthermore, tumours have been shown to be highly heterogenous, requiring large-scale spatial analysis to reliably profile their cellular and structural composition. Volumetric imaging permits the visualization of intact biological samples, thereby revealing the spatio-phenotypic and dynamic traits of cancer. This review focuses on new insights into cancer biology uniquely brought to light by 3D imaging and concomitant progress in cancer modelling and quantitative analysis. 3D imaging has the potential to generate broad knowledge advance from major mechanisms of tumour progression to new strategies for cancer treatment and patient diagnosis. We discuss the expected future contributions of the newest imaging trends towards these goals and the challenges faced for reaching their full application in cancer research.

中文翻译：

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推动癌症发现的 3D 成像。

我们对癌症细胞组成和结构的理解主要是通过使用 2D 模型和薄切片样本来推进的。这提供了有关基本癌症生物学和治疗反应的空间信息。然而，组织包含各种功能状态和形状不同的相互连接的细胞，这种复杂的组织不可能在单一平面上捕捉到。此外，肿瘤已被证明具有高度异质性，需要进行大规模空间分析才能可靠地描述其细胞和结构组成。体积成像允许完整生物样本的可视化，从而揭示癌症的空间表型和动态特征。这篇综述侧重于通过 3D 成像以及癌症建模和定量分析的伴随进展独特地揭示了癌症生物学的新见解。3D 成像有可能产生广泛的知识进步，从肿瘤进展的主要机制到癌症治疗和患者诊断的新策略。我们讨论了最新成像趋势对这些目标的预期未来贡献，以及在癌症研究中全面应用所面临的挑战。