2023-06-07 10:19:00
How tumors react to scheduled treatments could be better observed in the future. Researchers are growing miniature tumors that can be used to test cancer therapies on models.
Researchers have developed a method with which they can reproduce the structure of real tumors in miniature models. The method should help personalized treatment options for people with rare or difficult-to-treat cancers to find.
So-called organoids – miniature tumors – can be cultivated in the laboratory using the patient’s own cells or cell lines in order to be able to better understand human biology and diseases in the future.
On the miniature models can be about testing drugs, in order to be able to estimate even more precisely in the future how the existing tumor will react to a corresponding treatment. The basics of the new method were presented in the journal “Nature”.
An important tool for tumor biology
In order to be able to model the tumors in the best possible way and true to detail, the researchers use bioprinting technologies: cells and other biomaterials can be used Imitations of real tissue structures who design the object to be reproduced layer by layer – comparable to a 3D printer.
According to Alice Soragni, one of the authors involved in the study, tumor organoids have become a fundamental tool for tumor biology: “However, we need even better ways to detect whether resistance might arise in a small cell population, which we can detect with traditional screening methods.” Methods may not discover. This is really important as organoid-based drug prediction is beginning to be used clinically,” says Soragni.
However, there are also hurdles when using the new method: for the current models, it is still difficult to record the diversity of tumors – this is one common cause of drug resistance.
New ways of cancer therapy
With the developed miniature tumors, the scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles now want to overcome these problems: The researchers combined the biologically printed cell with an imaging system.
With the help of artificial intelligence, the researchers finally managed to analyze the organoids. “The measurements were taken in a way that did not damage or destroy the organoids, which allowed non-invasive analysis of their growth and drug response,” explained Michael Teitell, co-author of the study.
From now on, the scientists want to use the process to break new ground in the treatment of cancer – they want to start from there investigate resistance mechanismsfrom which personalized treatment strategies can ultimately be derived.
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