Tumor-LN-oC proposes the development and validation of a TRL 5 tumor-lymph node-on-chip platform composed of 3D tissue models and microfluidic chips which will connect surgically removed human primary tumors and lymph node tissue (LN) from the same lung cancer patient. This will serve as a “biological twin” of the patient and will allow Tumor-LN-oC consortium to study the interaction of primary tumors with LNs for individual patients.

The general objective is to generate a Tumor-LN-oC platform that will allow the monitoring of the LN metastasis process, the characterization of signalling ques facilitating LN metastasis and the identification of spectral and molecular signatures in metastasizing cells. This information could lead to novel diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches. Moreover, the developed platform will serve as a preclinical setting for parallel testing of drugs for individual cancer lung cancer patients.

Tumor-LN-oC technologies will provide added value to the EU cancer diagnostics and pharmaceutical industries and lower the barriers associated with the application of OoC technology in disease diagnosis and therapy.