Cancer is, without doubt, the single most challenging enemy in modern healthcare. It demands resources and treatments that simply do not exist yet; meaning many lives are ended prematurely due to the development of this horrific illness. However, the use of two-dimensional (2D) culture models has always limited the ability to really develop the complex information needed to finally take on and defeat cancer once and for all. The development of multi-cellular 3D models, though, might help us to understand the tumors and their impacts more than ever.
As part of a new study released by the Queen Mary University London shows that this new 3D development could be essential in the development of treatments. The micro-environment developed shows the way that the tumor cells are grown in an ovarian cancer, in particular, and how it also responds to the drugs used in chemotherapy treatments.
Thanks to the work carried out in their study, “Peptide-protein co-assembling matrices as a biomimetic 3D model of ovarian cancer,”, we now know more about this process than ever before. The process is being managed by Alvaro Mata, PhD, a professor at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy.
So far, they have found that 90% of successful cancer treatments which are tested will pre-clinically fail in the early phases of a clinical trial. Just 5% of oncology drugs will be successful in a clinical trial, also. This comes down to various reasons, but one key reason given is that 2D cell cultures cannot replicate the various cross-communication taking place among cells.
This 3D model, though, helps to break down that barrier and ensure that it can be understood in full if needed. The researchers have developed the matrix to ensure that it can, as closely as is possible, mimic the physical and bio-molecular features of the tumors that exist within cancer patients.
This might help us to finally understand more about the cancers, and also in time improve the quality of clinical trialing. The hope is that by understanding the process, we can make more efficient and effective drugs that can make the quest of killing off the cancer without detrimentally damaging the body elsewhere possible.
While there are many more hurdles to overcome before this could become a mainstream ally for cancer understanding, this 3D tumor model is one of the best of its kind and offers an interesting insight into just how challenging it can be to overcome this dangerous, damaging condition.
Citation
https://www.genengnews.com/news/3d-tumor-model-may-lead-to-improved-ovarian-cancer-treatment/
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