One characteristic oncologists use to describe tumors is how “aggressive” they become. This term suggests a tumor forms, grows, or spreads quickly. Unfortunately, more aggressive tumors typically have few treatment options, and thus, outcomes for patients with aggressive tumors have relatively poor outcomes.
Several factors, including tumor grade and cancer stage, play a role in determining the aggressiveness of a particular cancer case. Aggressive cancers often grow so quickly that standard treatments cannot take effect before the tumor changes to a state that no longer responds to the intervention. Predicting aggressiveness can inform decision-making and help doctors and patients choose the most appropriate course of action for each case.
A new study published in Advanced Materials suggests a new, comprehensive approach to predicting tumor aggression. The study unveils that the shape of a tumor can serve as a crucial indicator, empowering doctors to comprehend the associated aggressiveness of the cancer in a whole new light.
The research addresses significant challenges oncologists and pathologists face in the current technology used to visualize the cells and molecules in a tumor. The conventional approach, where pathologists view and evaluate thin tissue sections on a microscope slide, limits visualization to a cross-section of tissue. This method fails to provide a realistic view of how the tumor looks and acts in three dimensions in the body, highlighting the urgent need for technological advancements in cancer research.
The researchers have coined the technology presented in the study as “Recoverable-Spheroid-on-a-Chip with Unrestricted External Shape” (ReSCUE). This innovative technology harnesses the power of organoids, three-dimensional cell cultures that closely mimic the structure and function of organs and tissue in the body. ReSCUE has the potential to revolutionize cancer research and drug development. Oncology researchers can now grow organoids from patient tumor samples, reproducing patient-specific characteristics and paving the way for more personalized treatment strategies.
While organoids allow researchers to understand how organs function and diseases develop, until now, generating organoids with different shapes has presented a challenge. ReSCUE enables the formation of breast cancer organoids with various morphologies, and studying these diverse shapes revealed some new information about where aggressive cancer cells localize. The researchers demonstrate that highly proliferative cancer cells homed to regions of the organoid with the most curves. This correlated to faster growth and aggressiveness.
Sources: Adv Mat, Science, Nat Rev Genet