Resumo/Summary:

In hematologic malignancies (HM), such as leukemia and lymphomas, uncontrolled growth of abnormal neoplastic cells in the bone marrow (BM) interrupts normal blood development. The recognition of the diseases heterogeneity demonstrates the need for specialized care. The vision of MicroTreat is to develop a 3D in vitro cell culture bioreactor based on microfluidic technology, in which patient’s BM cells can be cultured in an environment mimicking the biological niche. This approach along with the development of biocompatible microspheres coated with specific molecules will allow researchers and clinicians to identify the key components of BM that are essential for HM progression, to test existing anti-neoplastic drugs and to develop new therapeutic agents. The use of this innovative platform with drug screening purposes could lead to a European expenditure reduction of around 30 000 million euros due to non-effective treatments that have in addition adverse secondary effects in patients.