Last week the IRBLleida surprised us very pleasantly by presenting in society the work carried out by the group “Models of diseases in Drosophila” led by Dr. Casali. On this occasion, Dr. Casali’s group presented their models of Drosophila melanogaster, colloquially known as the vinegar fly, and how these can be used to model colorectal cancer and thus be able to understand metastatic processes, at the same time that can serve as a test bed to experiment with new treatments.
Although it may seem surprising, the vinegar fly also has many of the genes responsible for the appearance of colorectal cancer and by manipulating them intelligently, using genetic engineering techniques, these so useful models in basic research can be created. In fact, according to the same authors, a study of, for example, 30 drugs, could save the use of between 1,800 and 2,400 experimental mice.
In short, although the research presented is still very far from the market – and, therefore, patients should not create false expectations with this type of advertisements – at MiWEndo we are pleased to be surrounded by so much talent in our environment in the field of Colorectal cancer. Congratulations to Dr. Casali and his entire team!
