OHSU cancer researcher’s work offers glimpse into future of cancer detection, possible new treatments

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute are pioneering a new way to study cancer that could lead to faster cancer detection and more targeted treatment. It involves 3D printing cancer cells from a patient and miniature versions of organs like bones and lungs. The healthy tissue and cancer cells are placed together inside a tiny device that’s roughly the size of a thumbdrive. Scientists can then observe in real time how they interact and discover ways to halt the cancer’s spread into the healthy tissue. 

Luiz Bertassoni is the director of the institute’s Precision Biofabrication Hub, which he helped launch in 2023, and a professor of oncology at OHSU. Since last year, he and his team have received more than $9 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to advance the potential of these so-called organ-on-a-chip devices in the fight against cancer. The latest grants target an aggressive form of prostate cancer that spreads to bones and a cancer of the bone that spreads to lungs. Bertassoni joins us to talk about this new technology and the promise he thinks it holds for the roughly 40% of adults in the U.S. who will likely develop cancer at some point in their lives. 

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