Treating cancer is difficult – and time is not on the patient’s side. In a past project, which was completed in 2020, the patient’s own tumour tissue was used to identify personalised methods for striking back against cancer.
“Today, it is still generally only the cancer cells themselves that are studied, not the environment in which they exist,” says Yalda Bogestål, project manager at RISE.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths. The most common cancers are breast, lung, colon and rectum and prostate cancers. Identifying effective cancer medication and more precise diagnostics is a matter of global importance.
RISE has been a key player in advancing cancer research, focusing on using 3D printed scaffolds to better mimic tumour environments. These scaffolds allow cancer cells to interact with the surrounding tissue, giving a more accurate representation of how cancer behaves in the body. This approach was during the past project applied in breast cancer as a model organ. The results have proven valuable and now RISE together with partners is expanding its efforts to explore even more cancer types.
Over the past ten years, RISE has led and coordinated projects focused on 3D printing of native tissues, including blood vessels and the urethra, as well as scaffolds for cancer drug testing. These projects have covered various cancer types, such as breast cancer, intestinal cancer and ovarian cancer, along with CAR-T cell therapy. The initiatives have involved partners both nationally and internationally, including academic institutions, SMEs, large companies and national as well as international hospitals.
These new initiatives build on the previous work and continue to focus on advancing the 3D printing of scaffolds that more accurately replicate the patient’s tumour, offering a more realistic environment for testing potential treatments. “The competences of all of the partners play a major role, with each contributing with their varied expertise,” adds Yalda Bogestål.
Method for more accurate diagnoses and prognoses
The previous method, which was founded on an understanding of the building blocks of tumours, demonstrated the importance of scaffolding in tumour behaviour. When a surgeon removes a tumour, a piece of the tumour is taken and cleaned of cells, leaving a structure of connective tissue known as a scaffold. Standardised cancer cells are then added to this scaffold, making it possible to measure the effect that the patient’s particular scaffold has on the cells, allowing doctors to make more accurate diagnoses and prognoses.
“Associate Professor Anders Ståhlberg and Professor Göran Landberg of the University of Gothenburg have demonstrated the importance of scaffolding to tumour behaviour. The method is applicable to solid tumours, and we have already applied it to breast cancer as a model indication,” says Yalda Bogestål.
Better reflection of reality
As RISE moves forward, the aim is to further refine this approach for other cancer types, continuing to improve the accuracy of drug screening and patient-specific treatments. When cancer drugs are tested in the laboratory, the starting point is usually cell cultures in petri dishes, providing a very artificial, two-dimensional environment. Substances that demonstrate the desired effect are then further evaluated in animals before being finally cleared for human clinical trials. Unfortunately, these early tests are not sufficiently predictive, and only somewhere between 5 and 10% of substances successfully make their way along the full length of the chain.
“By using 3D printed scaffolds that mimic the patient’s tumour better than cell cultures, we are developing a method to test possible anticancer drugs on an industrial scale. This provides screening that is a much better reflection of reality and therefore provides better results,” explains Joakim Håkansson, project manager at RISE.