Three-dimensional cell culture technology is a novel cell culture technology, which can simulate the growth state of cells in vivo by scaffolds or special devices. Cells can form tissues or organs in vitro. It combines some advantages of traditional cell experiments and animal model experiments. Because of its advantages, it is widely used in clinical medical research, including research on stem cell differentiation, research on cell behavior, migration and invasion, study on microenvironment, study on drug sensitivity and radio-sensitivity of tumor cells, etc. In this paper, the evolution and classification of three-dimensional cell culture are reviewed, also the advantages and shortages are compared. The application of three-dimensional cell culture in clinical medicine are summarized to provide an insight into translational medicine.
Keywords: Clinical application; In vivo; Scaffold-based techniques; Scaffold-free techniques; Three-dimensional cell cultures; Translational medicine.