New Human Bone Marrow-on-a-Chip Helps Researchers Study Common Side Effects of Cancer Treatments

Study in a Sentence: Using human cells, researchers developed a 3D experimental model that mimics the development of human bone marrow tissue that can be used to study chemotherapy toxicity.

Healthy for Humans: Bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside of bones that produces blood cells, is frequently impacted by anti-cancer drugs. This human-specific, marrow-on-a-chip model is sufficiently complex for researchers to study the toxicity associated with cancer treatments.

Redefining Research: Human bone marrow is difficult to access, and animal studies have been unable to fully replicate the special microenvironment necessary to produce human blood cells. This new human-specific model is better suited to help researchers study the side effects of drugs and medical treatments—including debilitating cancer treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy—and how bone marrow interacts with other organs.