ArticleCommunications biology2022
Designing and interpreting 4D tumour spheroid experiments.
Article in Communications biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cyclic stretch inhibits cell invasion in 3D scaffolds.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A Phenotype-Structured PDE Framework for Investigating the Role of Hypoxic Memory on Tumor Invasion under Cyclic Hypoxia.Bulletin of mathematical biology · 2026Article
- A phenotype-structured PDE framework for investigating the role of hypoxic memory on tumor invasion under cyclic hypoxia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Mimicking the Complexity of Solid Tumors: How Spheroids Could Advance Cancer Preclinical Transformative Approaches.Cancers · 2025Article
- Spatiotemporal analysis of ratiometric biosensors in live multicellular spheroids using SPoRTS.Cell reports methods · 2025Article
- Making Predictions Using Poorly Identified Mathematical Models.Bulletin of mathematical biology · 2024Article
- Real-Time Cell Cycle Imaging in a 3D Cell Culture Model of Melanoma, Quantitative Analysis, Optical Clearing, and Mathematical Modeling.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024Article
- Free and Interfacial Boundaries in Individual-Based Models of Multicellular Biological systems.Bulletin of mathematical biology · 2023Article
- Collagen-Laponite Nanoclay Hydrogels for Tumor Spheroid Growth.Biomacromolecules · 2023Article
- Tumor Organoid and Spheroid Models for Cervical Cancer.Cancers · 2023Review
- Applications and Advances of Multicellular Tumor Spheroids: Challenges in Their Development and Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement of Animal Experiments in Anticancer Drug Development: The Contribution of 3D In Vitro Cancer Models in the Drug Efficacy Assessment.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Minimal Morphoelastic Models of Solid Tumour Spheroids: A Tutorial.Bulletin of mathematical biology · 2023Article
- Hybrid computational models of multicellular tumour growth considering glucose metabolism.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2023Review
- Geometric analysis enables biological insight from complex non-identifiable models using simple surrogates.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Growth and adaptation mechanisms of tumour spheroids with time-dependent oxygen availability.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- From simplicity to complexity in current melanoma models.Experimental dermatology · 2022Review
- Computationally efficient framework for diagnosing, understanding and predicting biphasic population growth.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2022Article
- A stochastic mathematical model of 4D tumour spheroids with real-time fluorescent cell cycle labelling.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tumour spheroid experiments are routinely used to study cancer progression and treatment. Various and inconsistent experimental designs are used, leading to challenges in interpretation and reproducibility. Using multiple experimental designs, live-dead cell staining, and real-time cell cycle imaging, we measure necrotic and proliferation-inhibited regions in over 1000 4D tumour spheroids (3D space plus cell cycle status). By intentionally varying the initial spheroid size and temporal sampling frequencies across multiple cell lines, we collect an abundance of measurements of internal spheroid structure. These data are difficult to compare and interpret. However, using an objective mathematical modelling framework and statistical identifiability analysis we quantitatively compare experimental designs and identify design choices that produce reliable biological insight. Measurements of internal spheroid structure provide the most insight, whereas varying initial spheroid size and temporal measurement frequency is less important. Our general framework applies to spheroids grown in different conditions and with different cell types.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.