A Patient-Derived 3D Bioprinted Colorectal Cancer-Stroma-Immune Triad Model Uncovers Microenvironmental Mechanisms of Chemoresistance and Immune Evasion

November 1, 2026 updated by: Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Construction of a 3D Multicellular Bioprinted Human Colorectal Cancer Immune-Stromal Microenvironment Model and Its Clinical Translational Research

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has shifted toward a patient-personalized precision medicine paradigm; however, the high heterogeneity and complex tumor microenvironment (TME) of CRC restrict the development of individualized therapy, and existing preclinical models and multi-omics technologies are insufficient to broadly benefit patients. Building on previous research, this project intends to use 3D multicellular bioprinting (3DMP) to incorporate key TME components-cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and PBMC immune cells-to construct patient-derived CRC-CAFs/PBMC 3DMP models, aiming to apply them to personalized clinical drug screening and prognosis prediction, and to combine them with multi-omics technologies to advance preclinical research on CRC. The implementation of this study will help address the bottleneck of the lack of broadly applicable preclinical models for advancing CRC precision therapy. It has major clinical translational value, will bring significant changes to CRC preclinical research platforms, and will help promote the development of cancer precision medicine.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • China
    • Zhejiang
      • Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
        • Recruiting
        • Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Clinically and pathologically proven colorectal cancer patients are considered as potential candidates of this study. Medical history will be thouroughly taken by clincal practicitioners. Only patients older than 18 years will be included. Those with medical hostory of other malignancies or serious diseases will be excluded. Patients who are not able to sign the informed consent independently will not be included in this study. All the patients included in this study will receive adjuvant/neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgical resection for the treatment of CRC.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • More than 18 years old
  • Diagnosed as colorectal cancer with or without liver metastases before
  • Pathologically proven colorectal cancer after surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Medical history with other malignancies or serious diseases
  • Disable to sign the informed consent independently

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: COHORT
  • Time Perspectives: PROSPECTIVE

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Patients with colorectal cancer who underwent surgical resection received adjuvant chemotherapy

Surgical resection will be performed for locoregional lesions. Regimens of adjuvant chemotherapy are directed by clinical guidance and experience.
Procedure: Surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy

Surgical resection will be performed for locoregional lesions. Regimens of adjuvant chemotherapy are directed by clinical guidance and experience.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Response of 3D tumor models/organoids to the same chemotherapy drugs as the corresponding patients.
Time Frame: 2025.05-2026.12

The investigators will establish and culture 3D colorectal cancer models and organoids. The 3D models and organoids will be treated with the same chemotherapy drugs as the corresponding patients. The viability of the 3D tumor models and organoids will be observed after treatment and the IC50 of each drug will be calculated. The correlation of 3D model/organoid sensitivity and the patient response will be analyzed.
2025.05-2026.12

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Response of the colorectal cancer patients to adjuvant chemotherapy.
Time Frame: 2025.05-2026.12

The response to adjuvant chemotherapy will be evaluated according to PFS. Regular follow-ups will be conducted, and PFS is difined as the interval between the date of surgery and the date of last follow-up or recurrence/progression.
2025.05-2026.12

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Collaborators

Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Yilei Mao, MD PHD, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 24, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

November 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 1, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CRC-CAFs-3DP-Bioprint

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) can be accessed with reasonable requests via e-mail. IPD will be shared after the study is completed.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The IPD data will available after the study is completed.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data can be accessed via e-mail with reasonable requests.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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