3R-US

01.03.2021 - 28.02.2026

Despite massive efforts in research and development, cancer remains a major cause of death worldwide. In Germany alone, more than 200.000 mice are used as experimental animals each year for basic research as well as translational and applied research in the field of oncology. The testing of new therapies in human tumor tissue cultures represents a promising alternative for the evaluation of active substances under clinically transferable conditions. However, due to the complex biological demands and high technical requirements, robust cultivation formats for primary tumor tissues that preserve cellular heterogeneity are lacking. The establishment of a valid ex vivo technology and analytics platform based on human tumor tissues as a substitute for animal testing can only be achieved with the combined expertise of physicians, biologists and engineers, as with the 3R-US network conceived here.