According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) technology news sharing platform EurekAlert!, scientists at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine have collaborated with local biotechnology companies to create a three-dimensional tumor model that may replicate real tumors. Researchers believe that this model can help them better understand tumor diseases and accelerate the development of better new therapies.
reported that this multi-cell model can also customize the tumor development of a specific patient, so that doctors can determine the tumor's response to different drugs and determine the best treatment plan based on a simple biopsy. Dan Gilley, Ph.D. in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology of UVA, UVA Research Center Research Institute said: "This model is a way for us to understand the internal workings of tumors to systematically identify and test cancer therapies."
The new model can simulate the tumor "microenvironment" of pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, and may also help deal with many types of solid tumors, allowing scientists to better understand how cancer cells grow, spread and develop, and their drug resistance. The new model also combines hemodynamics and biological transport methods, and reflects the complexity of cancer by integrating different cell types found in tumors, including vascular endothelial cells, and provides important perspectives and methods for the development of new therapies.