The Study of Brain Tumor Stem Cell Invasion

Ninety percent of deaths from solid tumors have been ascribed to the invasion and metastatic dissemination of cancer cells. One of the most fundamental prerequisites of brain tumor stem cell invasion is their ability to penetrate and traverse through the basement membrane and stromal compartments displacing from their original point of origin and repopulating at a distant site and adjacent tissue. In order to propose a successful clinical strategy, the investigation of the molecular determinants of invasion must factor in measurements and predictors of the complexity of brain tumor invasion potential accounting for the physiological scenarios encountered in the tumor niche. This chapter will highlight some laboratory approaches such as: spot assay, 3D chemogradient chambers, Fluoroblok™ tumor invasion, organotypics, and 3D tumor spheroid assays that could help mitigate the investigation of a tumor stem cell’s invasion capacity through restrictive 3D environments otherwise seen in vivo.