New Opportunity for Cancer Therapy: Miniature Lab Provides Insights into Metastases Development

Every year, around half a million people in Germany are diagnosed with cancer. Despite the existence of effective treatment options for many types of cancer, many questions about the development of the disease remain unanswered. Why does a tumor develop? What factors promote the growth of cancer cells? Why do metastases spread to other organs over time? The animal models mainly in use to date only represent the actual processes in the human body to a limited extent. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden has developed special microsystems in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM in Hanover and the University of Regensburg. They are now using them to examine tissue sections of tumors under realistic conditions.