Science Advances: The first 3D bioprinting of an entire active tumor

Researchers at Tel Aviv University used a 3D printer to print the entire active and viable glioblastoma

Video link: https:// 3D bioprinted models are based on patient samples, collected directly from the operating room of Tel Aviv’s Solaki Medical Center

Professor Satchi-Fainaro said: “Glioblastoma is the deadliest cancer of the central nervous system and accounts for the majority of brain malignancies

In order to solve this problem, a research team led by Professor Satchi-Fainaro and PhD student Lena Neufeld created the first 3D bioprinted model of glioblastoma, which includes a 3D cancer tissue surrounded by an extracellular matrix.

"It's not just cancer cells," Professor Satchi-Fainaro explained.

After successfully printing 3D tumors, Professor Satchi-Fainaro and her colleagues proved that, unlike cancer cells grown in petri dishes, 3D bioprinting models are fast, reliable, and reproducible to predict the best treatment methods for specific patients.

"We proved that our 3D model is more suitable for predicting therapeutic effects, target discovery, and drug development in three different ways

According to Professor Satchi-Fainaro, this innovative method will also enable the development of new drugs and the discovery of new drug targets at a much faster rate than it is now

"If we extract a sample and its extracellular matrix from a patient’s tissue, we can 3D bioprint 100 tiny tumors from this sample, and test a variety of different combinations of different drugs to find the best treatment for this specific tumor.

Original reference:

Microengineered perfusable 3D-bioprinted glioblastoma model for in vivo mimicry of tumor microenvironment