Replace mice xenografts by MIcrofluidic CancerogEnesis Chips

In the EU, cancer is the second leading cause of death. It`s a shocking fact that 31% of men and 25% of women are expected to face a cancer diagnosis before the age of 75. But here`s the exciting part personalized medicine is changing the game! This innovative approach promises earlier detection and super-targeted treatments tailored to each patient. For years, scientists have relied on mouse xenograft models for cancer research. They inject human tumor cells into immunosuppressed mice and watch how the cancer grows. Mouse xenografts are the state-of-the-art model for assessing tumor aggressiveness and testing new cancer drugs. But with personalized medicine on the rise, the demand for these mouse models is skyrocketing at a whopping 16.4% annual increase! In fact, the number of mouse experiments is set to double in the next five years. This groundbreaking project offers an animal-friendly alternative: replacing mouse xenograft models with a cutting-edge human model on a microchip! This not only spares the lives of countless healthy mice but also offers a more accurate representation of human cancer. Why? Because what`s effective in a mouse doesn`t always work in humans. Many promising drugs fail in clinical trials because of this species gap, leaving patients without effective treatments. Our microchip model uses human cancer cells in a meticulously controlled microenvironment. By integrating microelectrodes for non-destructive, continuous monitoring, we can track tumor growth and the effects of anti-cancer drugs in real-time. Imagine a chip that mimics human skin, complete with vascular structures and immune cells its like having a tiny, realistic model of human cancer right in the lab! We are initiating our research with human melanoma cell lines introduced into a human epidermis/dermis-equivalent chip. Our goal is to prove that these human cancer-on-a-chip models can completely replace mouse models. In the final stages, we`ll even test patient-derived tumor cells on the chip, paving the way for truly personalized therapies. This project could revolutionize personalized cancer treatment and offer profound insights into tumor development and therapy in humans. Get ready for a future where cancer research is faster, more accurate, and more humane! The future of cancer treatment is here, and it`s happening on a microchip!