How does your 3D model work?
The model mimics the natural environment of breast tissue, and in this gel-like material human breast cells can grow into gland-like structures resembling healthy breasts. What is unique about our model is that we can gradually change the stiffness and other properties of this environment, which allows us to study how healthy cells react when the environment changes – a step that is known to promote tumour growth and metastasis in breast cancer.
Why is 3D better than traditional 2D models?
In traditional lab models, cells are grown on flat plastic surfaces, which are great to control different paramters and decipher mechanisms, but do not resemble the body’s soft and complex environment. In 3D, cells can behave differently – they move, shape, and organize themselves in more complex ways to ultimately build and function as real tissue. Our 3D model combines the best of both these worlds, the control allowed by conventional 2D models and the complexity of a more realistic environment.
Why is the tumor environment important?
Cancer cells do not grow and spread on their own. Cells are influenced by their surroundings, which consist of supporting cells, blood vessels, and extracellular structures. All these elements affect cancer cell behavior in complex ways that can significantly influence disease progression. As the tumor grows, tissue properties change – for example, it becomes stiffer and more disorganized. These changes send signals to cancer cells, which can cause them to grow faster and spread. The model allows us to observe and identify factors that drive the very first steps when healthy cells start growing, and breaking away from tissue, leading to metastasis,. Understanding this two-way communication is crucial to explain why cancer spreads and how we can prevent it.
Can this help patients?
That is our long-term goal. By more accurately recreating how cancer behaves in the body, the model provides us with a much better platform for discovering new weaknesses in the disease. It also makes it possible to test new treatments in an environment that is more realistic than traditional lab systems. In the future, it may be possible to culture patient tissues in the laboratory to determine which treatments work best before they are given, leading to more personalized, faster, and effective care with fewer side effects.
Exciting discoveries so far?
One of the most surprising things we have seen is how quickly healthy tissue can begin to change when its environment becomes stiffer – a hallmark of many aggressive tumors. We observe that cells start dividing and reorganizing, alter their internal structures, and expand in ways not seen in traditional lab models. These early behaviors may provide keys to understanding how cancer gains an early foothold and help us stop it faster than we can today.
What will you use the IngaBritt och Arne Lundberg Forskningsstiftelse's grant for?
A state-of-the-art imaging system that will enable us to observe living cells deep inside complex 3D tissues — in real time and with high resolution. This will make it possible to follow how healthy breast tissue transforms into cancer, how cells move and interact during this transition, and how they respond to treatments. In this way, we can uncover hidden aspects of cancer development and identify better therapeutic strategies. The imaging system will also be a shared resource for other researchers working in fields such as brain diseases, immunology, and tissue regeneration.