3-D Model of Breast Cancer in the Lab

Roland Piquepaille writes "According to BBC News, U.K. researchers have built a 3-D version of breast cancer in a test tube. Their model contains cells from normal and cancerous breast tissue. The researchers used a collagen gel to form 3-D structures to create structures similar to the ones found in a woman's breast. So far, they focused on a common pre-cancerous condition known as 'ductal carcinoma in situ' (DCIS). With this model, they hope to reduce experiments done on animals such as mice. In fact, these experiments are not always useful because similarities can be poor between mice and humans. Now it remains to be seen if this model will be endorsed by the scientific community."

Re:interesting, but

[qengho]

what does having a (basically) fake boob to play with change how you look at breast cancer

From TFA:

Professor Louise Jones, professor of breast pathology at the Institute of Cancer at Queen Mary, University of London, explained that they needed to develop a test tube model that was more complex than a layer of cells in a Petri dish.

Cells in the body grow in three dimensions. Hence the title of this submission.

Re:Oh I see

[mattpointblank]

I wonder, could we somehow put the interests of the many before the interests of the one?

Sure! I assume this means you're willing to be infected with cancer for research purposes - after all, interests of the many...

Re:What about the men?

[Lunar_Lamp]

Actually, the usual reason given for the lower funding for prostate cancers is that men, as a generalisation, are less willing to discuss the issues than women. Men tend to shy away from it, and thus it doesn't receive the same level of publicity, ergo not the same level of funding.