Polish scientists have developed an innovative tissue engineering technique to support regeneration and restoration of cancer patients’ bone tissue. The Bio-Implant project was carried out by an interdisciplinary consortium of three Polish universities and an oncology centre.
Innovative bio-implants help to cure cancer patients missing bone tissue
- 01 February 2016
The main achievement of the project is the development of an innovative tissue engineering product. Bio-implants proved to be an effective method to regenerate bone tissue damaged by the tumour and to refill bone site defects. The effectiveness of the method was confirmed in in vitro and in vivo testing.
Every year in Poland around 1 500 patients need surgery for the reconstruction of parts of their facial skeleton lost in the course of cancer treatment. With previous techniques such reconstructions involved grafts of bone fragments taken from various parts of the patient’s body. These procedures however are not entirely effective as they may lead to serious complications. Therefore a new method was needed.
An innovative treatment
Scientists from the Oncology Centre, Warsaw University of Technology, Wroclaw University of Technology and the Warsaw Medical University joined forces to develop an innovative treatment method using tissue engineering and help patients regenerate their own tissue.
The bio-implants developed through this project are biodegradable scaffolds tailored to meet the needs of specific patients. They combine biological material - human stem cells - with synthetic material. The synthetic material builds a scaffold allowing the tissue to growth. The stem cells harvested from the patient’s fatty tissue have the ability to form a new tissue in the environment created by the implant. Because the scaffold is bioactive, it interacts with tissues and allows the stem cells to divide freely and to differentiate properly.
What is especially innovative about this technique is that it uses 3D printing technology to make a three-dimensional copy of the lost bone fragment. A computer navigation system is also used during the surgery to accurately position the implant in the exact place where the bone fragment is missing.
The bio-implant generates growth factors, proteins which are necessary to support tissue growth. After the tissue is regenerated the implant degrades prone to hydrolysis. There is also no risk of bio-implant rejection since the implants are produced using modern materials that have already been approved for use in humans.
Avoiding additional surgeries
The bio-implant can be implanted immediately after the removal of the tumour so as to avoid additional reconstructive surgery. This technique can be used for reconstructing bones in other parts of the body as well, including in the region of long bones, where bone reconstruction is also needed.
The research was conducted by the interdisciplinary consortium of scientists from the Oncology Centre, Warsaw University of Technology, Wroclaw University of Technology and Warsaw Medical University. The bio-implant technique was granted the third award for the best Polish Invention in 2014.
Six new jobs have been created as a result of the project.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the Bio-Implant project is EUR 32 410 000, of which the EU’s European Regional Development Fund is contributing EUR 27 020 000 from the Operational Programme “Innovative Economy” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period.