Cancer patients developing metastatic disease are considered incurable. Breast cancer is one of the most common, hitting 1 women in 8, and in some cases it progresses to form metastases, such as bone metastases. A major hurdle to overcome breast cancer mortality is the lack of understanding of dynamics leading to the spread of breast cancer cells to the bone.
The Genoa Bioengineering Laboratory of the IEIIT Institute coordinates a European project H2020 FET-OPEN (Future Emerging Technology), which aims to develop an effective 3D model of spontaneous breast cancer metastasis, with the aim of simulating in vitro all the biological processes of tumor onset and offers high-throughput drug screening in a physiological context, alternative to animal models. The technology-based project transcends the limitations of current in vitro solutions, combining the micro (metastatic cells circulating in artificial capillary networks) to macro (clinically relevant size tumor organoids, connected by a hierarchically organized vascular tree). The expected impact is multiple: to model in vitro the metastatic process of breast cancer, offer a revolutionary technology to investigate metastases and to identify alternative anti-tumor therapies.
info: silvia.scaglione@ieiit.cnr.it
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