Development of a Thyroid Cancer to Lung Metastasis-on-a-Chip Model

A primary tumor-to-lung metastasis-on-a-chip model shows that FTC236 and HTh74 NMTC cells metastasize to a lung organoid, with RCAN1.4 status modulating behavior.

• Why it matters: Metastatic cascade studies in differentiated non-medullary thyroid cancer are limited by preclinical models that reproduce organ-to-organ spread from primary tumors.
• What they did: The authors 3D-printed resin molds to create a microfluidic device linking primary and secondary sites, engrafting FTC236 or HTh74 into a hydrogel primary organoid and assessing cell movement to a bronchial epithelial–lung fibroblast lung organoid.
• The result: RCAN1.4-reduced FTC236 cells showed increased metastatic behavior, while HTh74 was less affected, and adding NK-92 cells reduced metastases for both lines with elevated granzyme B in circulating fluid.

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