Cancer-On-A-Chip: Modeling Colorectal Cancer Progression

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks among the deadliest cancers globally, claiming over 900,000 lives annually (Siegel et al., 2021). In the United States, the 5-year survival rate for patients with metastatic CRC is below 15% (Siegel et al., 2020). Addressing this grim prognosis necessitates a deeper understanding of cancer progression and better control measures.

A recent paper in iScience by researchers from the Lawrence J Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine presents an in vitro Organ-Chip model that replicates in vivo tissue structure and the tumor microenvironment (TME) to study intravasation, an early step in metastasis.

In this on-demand webinar, Dr. Mumenthaler explores advancements made by integrating Organ-Chip models with high-content imaging and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to enhance our understanding of the microenvironment's role in colorectal cancer progression.

Key study findings to be discussed include:

• Development and characterization of CRC-on-chip
• Metabolic comparison of Intestine Chips versus CRC chips
• Examination of tumor cell intravasation
• Phenotypic heterogeneity of CRC cells during intravasation
• Influence of mechanical and biochemical cues from the TME on CRC invasion