This edition of the conference has seeked to emphasize complex 3D model systems that capture the dialogue between cancer cells, the cellular stroma (e.g. fibroblasts, immune cells), and the extracellular matrix, with a focus on how this dialogue affects cancer progression and treatment response.
The focus of the meeting is more than fitting to our 3R-US network goals of developing versatile non-animal platforms for the testing of novel biotherapeutics, with the emphasis on colorectal carcinoma. Stella Asmanidou, one of the three doctoral students of our 3R-US network, presented her work on modeling and treating cetuximab resistance using ex vivo colorectal tumor slices.
