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A real tumour printed from patient's own cells to predict best cancer therapies

Overcomes a long trial and error process and accelerates personalized treatment

18-Aug-2021

Key points from article :

Scientists extract a chunk of the tumour from the brain of a glioblastoma patient and use it to print a model matching their MRI scans, said Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, lead researcher.

Used to test the efficacy of potential treatments before using them for real inside the body.

Patient’s blood is pumped through the printed tumour, followed by a drug or therapeutic treatment.

Researchers say they are the first to print a viable tumour.

“We have about two weeks [to] test all the therapies..., and get back with which treatment is predicted to be the best fit,” - Satchi-Fainaro.

A treatment is deemed promising if the printed tumour shrinks or if it lowers metabolic activity against control groups.

More recent innovations have focused on bioprinting, which uses live cells as a sort of ink to build up the layers.

Study by Tel Aviv University published in the journal Science Advances.

Mentioned in this article:

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Ronit Satchi-Fainaro

Head of Cancer Research and Nanomedicine Laboratory at Tel Aviv University.

Science Advances

Journal that publishes original research and reviews in all disciplines of science

Tel Aviv University

Public Research university.

Topics mentioned on this page:
Cancer, 3D Printing