Patients with breast or prostate cancer are at high risk of developing bone metastases, which drastically reduce their chances of survival. New treatments are therefore urgently needed. This dissertation focuses on the development of so-called bifunctional biomaterials that can both kill cancer cells and promote bone regeneration. Reliable models are required to test these materials. Laboratory studies have shown that 3D cell culture models respond more realistically to chemotherapy than traditional 2D models. Further development demonstrated that 3D co-culture models better mimic the growth and treatment of bone metastases. Using these models, a bifunctional biomaterial was able to both inhibit cancer cell growth and stimulate mineralization. Before this biomaterial can be used in humans, it must be tested in animals, so a mouse model was also developed with human cancer cells and human bone tissue. Hopefully, in the future, the use of bifunctional biomaterials can ultimately improve the quality of life of patients with bone metastases.
Ceri-Anne Suurmond (1996) acquired her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Twente in 2020. Thereafter she started her PhD research at the Radboudumc in the research group Regenerative Biomaterials in the Dentistry Department. Currently, she works as a Medical Science Liaison at Kuros Biosciences.