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Revolutionary Discoveries in Pancreatic Cancer: Growing Pancreatic Organoids

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Revolutionary Discoveries in Pancreatic Cancer: Growing Pancreatic Organoids

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Source:  MIT News Office
Article author: Anne Trafton
Author affiliations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute

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09/13/2021

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Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a new environment, a specialized gel developed from polyethylene glycol (PEG), that mimics the environment surrounding the pancreas in order to allow researchers to develop and test new treatments for pancreatic cancer.  In doing so, they have been able to grow pancreatic "organoids" that can be compared to pancreatic tumors.  Trafton (2021) states that "the new MIT gel is completely synthetic, easy to assemble, and can be produced with a consistent composition every time".  This has been a problem in the past due to not being able to be consistent each time with the composition of the gel.

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Supportive cells grown using the new system, including fibroblasts (green) and macrophages (orange) surrounding pancreatic organoids. 

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Credit: Joanna Kelly and Chirstopher Below

https://www.medgadget.com/2021/09/pancreatic-organoids-grown-inside-synthetic-gel.html

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~ Could aid in the development for potential medications to fight pancreatic cancer
~ Easily reproducible environment composition in which pancreatic "organoids" are grown to mimic pancreatic tumors
~ Completely synthetic
~ Easy to assemble
~ Can be used to grow other types of cancer tissues

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~ I did not find any cons in my article, but I do believe that as they continue their studies of growing "organoids", they will come across some.
~ Is there currently an increased demand for polyethylene glycol (PEG) and therefore a shortage?
~ Cancer cells die very quickly after leaving the body.
~ Funding may be an issue as with other types of cancer research.

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It is my opinion that this team is making great strides toward furthering the understanding of pancreatic cancer and identifying new treatments.  This topic is personal to me and my family.  My dad has a neuroendocrine tumor on his pancreas.  In reading this current innovation, I am amazed at how far technology has really come.  I believe that now that there has been a new environment created in which to study pancreatic cancer, researchers can further develop and test new treatments to find a cure for the most aggressive type of cancer.

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1.  Discipline - I will bring routine and structure (by planning) to the team in order to be productive, efficient, and stay on track.
2.  Responsibility - I will take accountability and stay committed in order to be sure our current innovation is adopted into practice.
3.  Includer - I will be sure to include the input of all members of the team to be sure no one feels left out.
4.  Learner - I will strive to continue learning new ideas that will aid us in the implementation of our current innovation.
5.  Arranger - I will stay organized, but be flexible in order to be productive and take on any changes that need to be made for our current innovation to be adopted.

**My top 5 strengths are from the executing, relationship building, and strategic thinking categories.

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I have put together an evaluation team to aid in the adoption of my current innovation.  This team includes members whose top strengths are from different categories including:  strategic thinking; influencing; executing.  The members are as follows:
1.  Chelsea (command) - She will be able to help take control of any situation and aid in decision making.
2.  Angelica (analytical) - She will provide an outlook on any factors that may impede the the adoption of the current innovation.
3.  Sheila (strategic) - She will provide alternatives if any problems arise in the adoption of the current innovation.
4.  William (woo) - He will meet the people in charge of adopting new/current innovations and persuade them on why they should implement this into practice.
5.  Rachel (restorative) - She will aid in the resolution of any problems that may arise in the adoption of the current innovation.

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Kelly, J. & Below, C. (2021). Supportive cells grown using the new system, including fibroblasts (green) and macrophages (orange) surrounding pancreatic organoids [Photograph]. Medgadget. https://www.medgadget.com/2021/09/pancreatic-organoids-grown-inside-synthetic-gel.html

Trafton, A. (2021, September 13). Engineers grow pancreatic 'organoids' that mimic the real thing: Studying these organoids could help researchers develop and test new treatments for pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest types of cancer. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). https://news.mit.edu/2021/pancreatic-organoids-cancer-0913