Modeling the pre-invasive breast cancer microenvironment using high-throughput microfluidic cell encapsulation

The majority of breast cancer deaths are caused by metastases to other tissues. Biomechanical changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) are thought to play a pivotal role in the metastatic process. In order to study this role, models with control over the ECM properties are essential. We report a novel high-throughput microfluidics-based approach to build a physiologically relevant model of pre-invasive breast cancer, capturing the onset of metastasis: invasion of cancer cells from basal into stromal tissue. We use droplet microfluidics to build a heterogeneous tissue, enabling control over tissue size, cell count, and ECM composition and stiffness.