Oesophageal cancer (EC) is an aggressive malignancy with high incidence and mortality rates. It is the sixth major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with the developing countries bearing nearly 80% of the total burden of this cancer. Despite advancements in multimodality therapy, the prognosis for patients with EC remains poor. One of the significant hurdles in the effective management of EC is the development of chemoresistance in patients during treatment. Advances in experimental tools facilitate a better understanding of the mechanism underlying cancer development and thus aid in designing effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. In this regard, in vitro assays, and in vivo animal models are essential tools in cancer research that enable researchers to develop novel cancer therapies, drug screening methods, and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of tumor growth and metastasis.

Recent advances in developing three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures, such as transwell-based, spheroid-based, tumor-microvessel models, and patient-derived organoids, have revolutionized cancer investigation. These 3D cultures have emerged as more efficient model systems than the 2D cell line platform. They better mimic the tumor complexity through possible coculturing, incorporation of biomaterials, microfabrication, and microfluidics. There is also an increasing interest in using omics technologies to characterize molecular changes underlying the development of this deadly disease and identify biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis, and predicting response to therapy.

This Methods Collection aims to be a visual resource of (in-vitro, in-vivo, and clinical) protocols used in oesophageal cancer research, from unraveling underlying molecular mechanisms to developing biomarkers and therapeutic targets to drug screening and treatment.