HMN 2025: How 3D-printed kidney tumors show potential for more targeted treatment

Scientists at Tsinghua University have developed a method to grow kidney tumors in the lab using cells from real patients, offering a potential new tool in the fight against renal cancer.

Their research, published in the journal Biofabrication, outlines how 3D bioprinting technology can be used to replicate the unique characteristics of each patient’s tumor.

The team combined tumor cells with other cell types, including blood vessel-like structures, to mimic the environment within the body. The lab-grown tumors, called organoids, are created from real patients’ tumor cells, and exactly mimic their traits.

This realistic model provides a more accurate platform for studying tumor development and testing how different therapies perform. The technology also reduces the need for labor-intensive manual processes, enabling faster and more scalable testing.

The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is increasing annually, posing a serious threat to human health. One of the main challenges in treatment is that many patients don’t respond well to chemotherapy, and targeted drugs work differently for each person. Tumors vary significantly, and genetic changes over time can lead to treatment failure, drug resistance, and higher chances of recurrence.

Current lab models are often inconsistent and don’t accurately reflect how tumors behave in the body, making it difficult to test realistic treatment options.

The new 3D bioprinting approach overcomes these limitations by producing organoids that retain the same features as the original tumors. This allows researchers to test multiple therapies quickly and identify the most effective options before applying them in the clinic.

“This new method could greatly improve how we study kidney cancer and develop personalized treatments for patients,” says Dr. Yuan Pang, co-author of the study. “The rapid production of organoids will make it much faster to find the right treatment for individual patients.”