Taking the Study of Cancer Cell Survival to a New Dimension Tyler Jacks, Robert A. Weinberg  Cell  Volume 111, Issue 7, Pages 923-925 (December 2002) DOI: 10.1016/S0092-8674(02)01229-1

Figure 1 Studying Cancer Cell Behavior in Three-Dimensional Culture Systems Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems have been used to study the functional interactions between epithelial cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). The establishment of apicobasal polarity in such models promotes cell survival in response to various apoptotic stimuli, and the absence of interactions with the ECM induces apoptosis of cells in the interior of the 3D structures and lumen formation. Perturbation of proliferation and survival signals can lead to loss of lumen formation, an early event in epithelial carcinogenesis. See text for details. Cell 2002 111, 923-925DOI: (10.1016/S0092-8674(02)01229-1)