Dr Steiner on a Microdevice for Evaluating Responses to RCC Treatment

Clara Steiner, MD, post-doctoral research fellow, Jonas Lab, Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses a pilot study (NCT05700461) of an implantable microdevice for in vivo evaluation of drug responses in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Currently, one of the main challenges in managing RCC is the absence of personalized biomarkers that can guide treatment decisions, Steiner begins. This lack of tailored indicators means that clinicians often face difficulties in determining the most effective therapy for individual patients, according to Steiner. To address this issue, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in collaboration with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, have developed a microdevice that holds promise as a potential solution for this issue, she reports.

Although the research is still in its early stages—specifically in the phase 1 stage, focusing on safety and feasibility—there is hope that this microdevice could become a valuable tool in personalizing RCC treatment through enhancing the RCC field’s understanding of drug-tumor interactions in the unique context of each patient’s disease, she continues. At this point in the trial, the focus is on exploring different methods to analyze the data gathered from the microdevice’s outputs, particularly the stainings, to identify which readouts might be most useful. The goal is to optimize the analytical pathway, ensuring that the maximum amount of valuable information can be extracted from the patient tissue samples, Steiner emphasizes.

One significant advantage of this microdevice is its ability to provide insights into the in vivo effects of various drugs on the tumor microenvironment (TME), she says, noting that these effects are observed within the unique TME of each patient. By closely monitoring how these drugs interact with the specific tumor conditions of each patient, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the resulting biological reactions, Steiner explains. This personalized approach could ultimately lead to more effective and tailored treatment strategies for RCC, Steiner adds.