A novel microfluidic device to predict brain cancer prognosis and response to therapy

PROJECT NARRATIVE In the United States, glioblastoma (GBM), the most common brain cancer, is responsible for over 13,000 deaths per year with an economic burden of $7.2 billion. Despite radical surgery and chemo-/radiotherapy, median survival for this lethal brain cancer is only 14.6 months. Given this dismal prognosis and paucity of effective treatment options, we aim to establish a novel device, Microfluidic Invasion Network Device (MIND), for clinical assessment of outcomes in GBM patients, genetic characterization of aggressive tumor behaviors and high-throughput screening of novel potential therapeutic drugs, with the potential to greatly impact the therapeutic management of patients with malignant brain tumors.