Rowan 3D-Bioprints Bone Cancer Models to Study Treatment Resistance

Why this cancer is hard to study

Chondrosarcoma is a rare bone cancer that does not respond to chemotherapy or radiation. That makes it difficult to test new treatments in the lab. Traditional flat-cell cultures erase the spatial variables that drive the disease, while animal models hide the cellular conversations researchers need to observe.

The 3D-printed platform

Andrea Vernengo, Ph.D., an associate professor at Rowan University, developed a bioprinting technique that deposits tumor cells and mesenchymal stem cells inside centimeter-scale hydrogel blocks. The two cell types sit in separate clusters within ringed channels, and the spacing between them is the experimental variable.

The gel is temperature-responsive. By adjusting the temperature, the team can loosen its texture and release the cells to move. This turns a static construct into a migration assay. Over 30 days, the researchers watch to see whether the clusters converge, a sign that the cells are communicating.

What the team hopes to learn

The working hypothesis is that chondrosarcoma cells chemically recruit healthy stem cells and convert them into collaborators. Vernengo calls it turning stem cells into accomplices that help the tumor grow. If the team can map that signal exchange, they may find ways to interrupt it.

Sophia Orbach will profile RNA inside individual cells to track how stem cell identity shifts under tumor influence. Susy Kohout will analyze the molecular events that drive that shift.

What the grant covers

The National Cancer Institute awarded a two-year, $155,000 grant under award number R03CA301103. The money supports the bioprinter, cell culture work, and molecular analysis needed to run the 30-day assays.