Researchers from University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health created the first preclinical model of appendiceal cancer, opening the door for further research.
A paper, published on Nov. 1 in Clinical Cancer Research, outlined how researchers utilized organotypic slice cultures of living appendiceal cancer cells to study the tumors. Slices were removed from patients at surgery and then cultured. The research marks the first time this method has been used for appendiceal, according to the organization's release.
"We've learned that appendiceal cancer has a distinctive genomic landscape and is surprisingly full of immune cells," senior author Andrew Lowy, MD, chief of the division of surgical oncology at Moores Cancer Center and a professor of surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said in the release. "Utilizing tissue slices made from patient tumor resections is a great way to study the pathobiology of this disease, and we are hopeful they will help predict therapy responses in patients. Using this new model, we can now test new treatments that might lead to better outcomes for patients with advanced disease."