Deciphering the tumor microenvironment using patient-derived scaffolds and single-cell triomics

Tumor cells don’t grow in isolation. The surrounding microenvironment, from extracellular matrix to stromal and immune cells, shapes how they divide, differentiate, and respond to treatment. Standard 2D cultures miss most of that context.

In this webinar, Anders Ståhlberg, Professor of Clinical Genomics at the Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, University of Gothenburg, shows how his group builds patient-derived scaffolds by decellularizing tumor tissue. The scaffolds keep the 3D structure and protein composition of the original tumor. He then shows how single-cell triomics on the Tapestri® platform profiles SNVs, CNVs, RNA, and protein from the same cell, so you can see tumor heterogeneity in conditions closer to in vivo.

Topics covered:

• The cellular and non-cellular parts of the tumor microenvironment, and why they matter for tumor development
• Patient-derived scaffolds as a 3D model system in breast and colorectal cancer
• Prognostic protein biomarkers found in scaffolds from colorectal cancer patients
• Repopulated scaffolds as testbeds for tumor cell behavior and treatment, including 5-FU response that correlates with clinical outcome
• A single-cell triomics workflow combining DNA, RNA, and protein measurements
• Differences in phenotype and treatment response between breast cancer cells grown in 2D monolayers and cells grown in patient-derived scaffolds

Speaker: Anders Ståhlberg, PhD, Professor of Clinical Genomics, Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, University of Gothenburg; Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine; SciLifeLab