Surgically implanted window allows scientists to watch mouse cancer cells
A small, surgically implanted glass window lets researchers watch the real-time development of cancer in the liver, spleen, kidney and small intestine, according to a new study in mice.
The technology shows that metastatic cancer cells -- cells that spread from one cancer site to form another cancer -- are more dynamic than previously thought.
Dutch scientist Laila Ritsma and her colleagues implanted windows into the abdominal walls of mice, gaining a direct view of the animals’ internal organs, according to a release from Science Translational Medicine, which published the paper. The authors then imaged small, spreading tumors called metastases for several hours and found that individual cells within the metastases were moving.
The next day, they counted an increase in the number of cells for every metastasis, according to the release. It’s assumed that cell movement is only important for the early phases of metastasis, when cancer cells escape from the main tumor site and migrate to other parts of the body like the liver. Yet this study indicates that cell movement may amplify the growth and further spread of establishe d tumors, the release said.
The abdominal imaging window may be useful for testing therapies aimed at preventing metastasis, the release said, adding that the approach is not designed for use in people.
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