Inflammation is a well-known driver of cancer progression, often attributed to immune cells infiltrating the tumor stroma. Also, aberrant composition and function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) have been shown to have a mechanistic and clinical impact on carcinogenesis and cancer progression. 3-Dimmensional bioprinting models have the potential to more closely recapitulate the complex interactions that occur in tumors in vivo. We developed a breast cancer 3D bioprinting model allowing us to study the interaction with immune cells embedded in a complex ECM structure mimicking the cancer microenvironment.

Dr. Espinoza-Sanchez and Prof. Dr. Burkhard Greve are cooperation partners of the Clinic for Radiology - Radiation Oncology (UKM Münster).