Science on Saturday: Seed, Soil and Spread

Seed, Soil and Spread: 3D bioprinted model for metastatic brain tumors

Cancer becomes highly dangerous when it spreads from its original site to a different vital organ. These secondary tumors called metastases are what kill most patients. Despite hundreds of years of research, it is not understood why, where, and how cancer spreads to organs like the brain. A major limitation in our current knowledge is how we study this process; most metastasis research is performed in mice. At LLNL, we are building systems to watch metastasis happen. Using 3D printing technology paired with advanced computer modeling, we create functional human brain blood vessels to monitor how cancer cells spread to the brain and form a tumor. This talk will describe how we bring together cancer biology, 3D printing and material science, to understand and hopefully prevent metastases in the future.

Pictured clockwise: Monica Moya, Javier Alvarado, Karen Dubbin, William Hynes and Claire Robertson, LLNL