Can oncologists make better cancer treatment decisions if they consult fish? A clinical trial aims to find out.
Led by developmental biologist Rita Fior of the Champalimaud Foundation, the 5-year study is the first randomized trial in which patients will receive drugs that have been tested beforehand in zebrafish embryos implanted with the patients’ cancer cells. Retrospective studies have shown that so-called zebrafish avatars could have identified successful treatments if they had been deployed in advance, and Fior and colleagues now want to determine whether that ability can benefit patients.
The first clinical trial of zebrafish embryos acting as cancer “avatars” will start soon.