A breast-on-a-chip as a model system for studying cancer growth and metastasis
Swiss partners
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University of Geneva: Kaori Sugihara (main applicant)
Partners in the MENA region
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American University of Beirut, Lebanon: Rami Mhanna (main applicant), Rabih Talhouk
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Benta Pharma Industries, Lebanon: Marcel Bassil
Presentation of the projet
The goal of the project is to develop a prototype of a lab-on-a-chip “artificial breast” coupled to an electrochemical biosensor as a model system to study the breast cancer growth and metastasis. Breast cancer imposes the highest healthcare costs (€6.7 billion, 13%) and second highest economic burden (€15 billion, 12%) of all cancers. Cancer metastasis causes 90% of all cancer deaths. However, the biology behind it is not clear because the standard two-dimensional cell culture does not represent the real in-vivo microenvironment crucial for metastasis. To overcome this technological bottleneck, we will combine Lebanon-made organoid (Mhanna Group) and an electrochemical tool developed in Switzerland (Sugihara Group) for fabricating the first prototype of a “breast-on-a-chip”. The novelty is that we carefully mimic the shape and the mechanics of the milk duct structure using non-traditional circular porous membranes where metastasis is allowed. We also couple the visually assessable ducts to electrochemical measurement to obtain quantitative outcomes of cell metastasis. This project will be the first step to obtain a preliminary result, so that we can apply for a larger translational grant such as Innosuisse or Bridge in future.