Cancer model could end animal testing
- From: J <nexsw@nvalid,anon>
- Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:56:22 -0400
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=716342007
Cancer model could end animal testing Wed 9 May 2007
JOHN VON RADOWITZ
A NEW test-tube model of breast cancer could halt painful experiments on
animals, it was claimed yesterday.
Researchers at Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry in London
developed the unique model, which builds a three-dimensional miniature
version of breast cancer in a test tube.
Mice are commonly used when researching breast cancer treatments, with up
to 400 animals experimented on in each series of tests.
Cancer cells are implanted into the animals, which then have to endure
painful injections followed by the "harvesting" of tumours.
However, mouse models of cancer still differ substantially from the
genuine human condition, and there has been a growing interest in
developing alternatives.
The London scientists co-cultured three different types of cells from
normal and cancerous breast tissue. Cancer cells were grown in a collagen
gel to form three-dimensional structures that closely resemble the
glandular form they take in the breast.
The way the cancer cells orientated themselves closely mirrored what is
seen in human breast cancer.
The complex three-dimensional cell cultures enable researchers to find out
more about the early developmental stages of the disease.
Scientists at Queen Mary's are now using them to investigate ductal
carcinoma in situ, a common pre-cancerous condition that leads to 20 per
cent of all breast cancers.
One discovery is that a particular type of cell from healthy breast tissue
can suppress the growth of cancer.
The research was funded by the Dr Hadwen Trust, which promotes medical
research that avoids the use of animals.
.
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