The use of cell lines is crucial for cancer-related research and provides a stripped-down version of the disease that can be used to study tumour biology, drug response, and therapeutic strategies. This abstract gives an overview of some known cancer cell lines through which their origins, characteristics, applications and limitations will be discussed. We specifically look at breast (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231), colorectal (HCT-116, SW620), prostate (LNCaP, PC-3), and lung (A549, H1975) cancers. Each line has unique characteristics that make it important when studying different elements of malignant growths’ progression mechanisms towards drug resistance as well as intervention methods applied. However, the challenges such as genetic drift and phenotypic variations from primary tumours call for cautious interpretation of findings. In future models such as patient derived organoid cultures or xenografts should therefore be integrated in order to bring about better clinical relevance in line studies hence increasing the speed toward personalized treatment strategies for cancer patients. This review summarizes current information while proposing avenues for further exploration on how best to deploy cancer cell lines in tackling most pressing oncological questions.