QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Sharing expertise to improve cancer research Researchers from the Technische Universität München are working with IHBI researchers to improve the way we study cancer. IHBI’s tissue engineering group leader Professor Dietmar Hutmacher explains that the combination of IHBI’s scaffold expertise and TUM’s cell culturing expertise will have far-reaching implications for research in general.

Traditional cancer research examines cancer cells in a two dimensional ‘petrie dish’. While this approach has been useful in discovering new diagnostic and treatment methods, the two dimensional perspective does not accurately represent the three dimensional nature of cancer within the body. To address this, IHBI researchers have created a 3D scaffold, upon which cancer

“What we’re planning, is to create 3D models that are so good, we reduce the need to conduct animal research,” says Professor Hutmacher. Reducing the use of animals in medical research has obvious benefits for animal welfare and also helps to accelerate research outcomes whilst reducing cost. The 3D models are already contributing to breakthrough research on chemotherapy resistant and radiation-therapy resistant tumours, and will also contribute to the growing trend towards personalised medicine.

cells can be grown to recreate the micro- environment seen in people with cancer.

This provides a 3D model which can be used to examine how cancer cells grow and spread throughout the body, and how the cells react to novel diagnostic and treatment techniques. This research has focused to date on

Professor Hutmacher explains, “In the long term future, we’re hop ing that we’ll be able to scan a tumour, then create a 3D model of it, which will allow us

to practice tailored treatment on it.” This research forms part of a longstanding research collaboration between QUT Cancer Research Program Leader Professor Judith Clements and Professor Viktor Magdolen at TUM investigating the key proteins that play a role in the development and growth of hormone dependent cancer.

hormone dependent cancers such as prostate, breast and ovarian cancer. A new collaboration has been established with researchers at the Technische Universität München (TUM), who are experts in the culture and study of ovarian cancer cells, to enable the establishment of a novel 3D ovarian cancer model to further research at both institutes.

Professor Hutmacher displays the 3D scaffold used to recreate the micro-environment of growing cancer cells.

273