Advances in three-dimensional bioprinted tumor organoids: From model construction to clinical translation

Abstract

Traditional cancer research models face inherent limitations, as two-dimensional cell cultures fail to capture the complexity of tumor biology, while animal models are confounded by species-specific discrepancies. The integration of tumor organoids with three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has recently emerged as a transformative strategy. This approach combines the histological and genetic fidelity of organoids with the spatial precision and structural controllability of 3D bioprinting, thereby enabling the fabrication of biomimetic tumor models. Such models more faithfully recapitulate critical features of the tumor microenvironment (TME), addressing major gaps in conventional experimental systems. This review systematically examines the principles, recent advances, and translational applications of 3D bioprinting-enabled tumor organoids, including the biological basis of organoids, key bioprinting strategies, and technical considerations. Major applications include constructing heterogeneous TMEs with immune interactions, engineering vascularized tumor structures, enabling high-throughput drug screening, validating bioprinted organoids using clinical samples, and advancing clinical translation, regulatory frameworks, and Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant manufacturing of tumor organoids. Despite substantial progress, several challenges remain, including limited printing resolution, bioink instability, difficulties in sustaining long-term cultures, and gaps in standardization. Nevertheless, integration with emerging technologies, such as microfluidics, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and standardized biomanufacturing platforms, is anticipated to bridge the gap between basic tumor research and clinical translation. Ultimately, these synergistic advances may accelerate the development of personalized cancer therapies and improve patient outcomes.

Keywords

Clinical translation / Drug screening / Three-dimensional bioprinting / Tumor microenvironment / Tumor organoids

Funding

This work is supported by the Zhejiang Medical and Health Science and Technology Program (Grant No. 2025KY032), the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 82503786), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Young Student Basic Research Projects (Grant No. T24B2014).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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