Bioprinting offers a host of benefits that researchers continue to explore. It utilizes a combination of living cells, bio-inks, and 3D printing methods to create complex structures like organs or skin tissue that can be incubated and used for testing purposes. Now, a team of engineers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) seeks to leverage this tech to enhance the tracking of drug responses in cancer patients. Here’s what you need to know.
BioPrinting
Bioprinting is the culmination of technological and medical breakthroughs over the last century. As medical researchers began to learn about cell structure and the first lab-grown implants began to emerge, bioprinting began to take shape. Today, bioprinting integrates AI research and advanced printing methods with the goal of one day being able to print bones, vascular networks, ears, exoskeletons, blood vessels, tissues, and organs.
Bioprinters serve a vital role in creating samples. These samples allow medical researchers to conduct tests on living cells in real-time. They can be made quickly and in large quantities, allowing for major testing of treatments and medications. It’s these qualities that led engineers to consider using these devices to create personalized cancer testing samples from patients.
Current Methods of Testing Drug Responses in Patients
To ensure safety, drug manufacturers must complete several trials and tests on their products. There are two common ways to accomplish this task, gene panel-based tests and patient-derived xenograft testing. These systems leverage tumor heterogeneity as part of their approach.
Tumor Heterogeneity
The majority of cancer treatment procedures rely on tumor heterogeneity to better understand their effects. This term refers to the cellular breakdown of the tumor. Not every cell is the same, meaning researchers need to understand all the cells to ensure the treatment is the most effective at killing the tumor.
Gene Panel-based Tests
Gene panel-based testing examines various genes at the same time to find mutations. This test allows researchers to identify genetic mutations that may indicate whether a treatment is likely to be effective for a specific patient.
Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX)
Patient-derived xenografts refer to a method of grafting tumor cells onto mice. This approach creates a comfortable environment for the tumor to grow, enabling researchers to test and study their treatment effects. Notably, there are now thousands of PDX models in use, making this one of the more effective methods in use today.
Drawbacks
The current methods of testing treatment effectiveness have several drawbacks. For one, they both require a lot of time. In the case of PDX, it can take up to 8 months to cultivate and test treatments. Additionally, its engraftment rates vary from 25% to 75%.
In the case of gene panel-based tests, there are additional risks such as the chance of incomplete or unwanted genetic information being collected. Lastly, they both are expensive to conduct.
Bioprinting Drug Response Study
The study “Prediction of Patient Drug Response via 3D Bioprinted Gastric Cancer Model Utilized Patient-Derived Tissue Laden Tissue-Specific Bioink”1 published in the international journal Advanced Science highlights the use of a 3D printed gastric cancer model that can anticipate chemotherapeutic efficacy through ex vivo cultures derived from cancer patients. Notably, the new patient-specific preclinical models can be used to accurately predict a patient’s drug response in a much shorter time than previous methods.
Gastric Cancer (GC)
The researchers selected to test their model on Gastric Cancer cells. Gastric cancer is among the top 10 leading causes of death, making it the ideal test subject for the study. They began by bioprinting tissue-specific bioinks containing patient-derived tumor chunks.
Source – POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology)
Then, the print was submerged in a stomach-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) hydrogel. This strategy allowed the engineers to replicate the cell-stroma and cell-matrix interactions of cancer cells in the body, preserving the histopathology, intercellular crosstalk, and cell compositions.
The extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system used a printed gastric cancer (pGC) model to produce hundreds of printed GC (pGC) specimens. Notably, this is a low-pressure and temperature printer. This system helps to prevent damage to the cell during the printing process.
Bioprinting Drug Response Test
The research team tested their patient-derived cancer tissue fragments as part of their R&D. The cultivated samples were monitored to see if they supported the tumor’s growth and expansion, like when in the body. Their test results revealed promising data.
Bioprinting Drug Response Test Results
Scientists found that by recreating the in vivo tumor microenvironment in vitro, they could test drugs and treatments like chemotherapy on personalized samples. This approach enabled the team to track key details of the treatment response like the model’s gene profiles related to cancer development, progression, and drug response.
In terms of performance, the new testing process provided more accurate and faster results than both traditional methods in use today. Additionally, they found that the new test sample retained the tumor’s original characteristics, allowing the team to conduct rapid drug evaluations when needed.
Bioprinting Drug Response Benefit
The engineers created an ideal treatment testing environment by successfully mimicking cancer cell-stroma interactions. The new approach provides more accuracy and takes less time to provide results. Additionally, it requires less construction time and can be expanded in vitro.
Bioprinting supports the creation of hundreds of sample replicas, allowing for large-scale testing of new treatments across a wide array of parameters. These replicas can be customized by adjusting the printing parameters like the materials, nozzle size, pressure, and speed.
Treatment Efficiency
This latest bioprinting cancer treatment response testing data highlights how this technology will help to improve treatment efficiency. Drug manufacturers and healthcare professionals gain an advantage due to the ability to see the results of their treatment in less time, allowing them to make adjustments and upgrades quicker and enhancing their ability to make accurate therapeutic predictions.
Personalized Treatment
This study demonstrated how this method can preserve the unique characteristics of gastric tissues from individual patients, allowing healthcare professional to tailor their treatment needs. By monitoring the effectiveness of treatments, healthcare professionals can better determine if a drug is working, and what is the minimum dose required to get the job done.
Fewer Side Effects
Bioprinting cancer testing will allow researchers to create more effective treatments that produce fewer side effects. Since the sample uses the patient’s tissue to create a working model, the engineers are completely aware of how each drug will interact with the body.
Bioprinting Drug Response Researchers
The bioprinting cancer drug response study was led by POSTECH with contributions from Professor Charles Lee of The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine. The project was funded by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Ministry of Education.
BioPrinting Innovators
The healthcare industry could see some major market movements as a result of this study. Cancer treatment is a big business that is predicted to reach $335B by 2029. This demand will be met by innovative firms providing out-the-box solutions for one of mankind’s biggest problems. Here is a company that is positioned perfectly to leverage the bioprinting drug response study data.
Organovo
Organovo (ONVO +2.83%) entered the market in 2007 to provide medical researchers with direct access to 3D printed tissue for testing and research. It’s located in San Diego, CA, and was the first to introduce three-dimensional tissue technology that functioned across all tissue types. While not directly involved with the study, such research could contribute to an increase in interest in bioprinting applications.
Organovo Holdings, Inc. (ONVO +2.83%)
As it stands, Organovo has become one of the most recognized names in the bioprinting and drug research sectors. Today, the company provides a host of functional human tissue prints designed specifically for drug testing. As such, any uptick in demand for 3D bioprinting could result in a boost to ONVO stock prices.
Bioprinting Drug Response Tests Will Make Healthcare Accessible
It’s always a good sign when you see medical advancements that could one day provide relief to millions of people globally. Gastric and other cancers are a growing concern that engineers and scientists seek to tackle head-on. This latest study provides the perfect training ground for such a plan. As such, you have to salute this team for a job well done.
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Study Reference:
1. Choi, Y.-M., Na, D., Yoon, G., Kim, J., Min, S., Yi, H.-G., Cho, S.-J., Cho, J. H., Lee, C., & Jang, J. (2025). Prediction of patient drug response via 3D bioprinted gastric cancer model utilizing patient-derived tissue-laden tissue-specific bioink. Advanced Science, 12(1), 2411769. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202411769