eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biosciences Biotechnology Research Asia 0973-1245 2026-09-14 23 3 59694 article Dhanya Krishnan 1 Gowri Priya Jayasree 2 Sneha Ajilal 2 Anusha Baby Satravada 3 Dhamodharan Prabhu 4 Ramya Ramachandran Prabhu 1 Department of Biotechnology, CEPCI Laboratory and Research Institute, Kollam, Kerala, India Department of Biotechnology, Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India Computational Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, USA Center for Bioinformatics, Department of Biotechnology, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Cancer stands as one of the leading worldwide health threats because it causes approximately 16% of all global deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2025). This review discusses the critical role of various tissue culture techniques in studying fundamental and advanced methods used in cancer research in identifying new therapeutic targets. There are several methods to study cancer cell biology and molecular mechanisms, such as traditional two-dimensional (2D), which has long been the gold standard, and more advanced three-dimensional (3D) culture systems that better reflect molecular characteristics, cell-cell interactions, and signaling pathways. Additionally, genetic engineering tools like Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) provide targeted genome editing and RNA interference (RNAi) based approaches such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for the transient gene silencing. These genetic engineering tools offer promising models for investigating the drug response, therapeutic targets, and in cancer research. https://www.biotech-asia.org/vol23no3/advances-in-in-vitro-tumor-models-and-genetic-engineering-in-cancer-research/ 2D cultures; 3D bioprinting; 3D cultures; CRISPR/Cas9; Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs)