Our Models

Learn about our state-of-the-art pre-clinical models

Research on rare cancers depends on having good models — systems that allow scientists to study how tumors grow, how they respond to treatments, and how new therapies can be developed. At TRACER, we are building a resource of patient-derived models that capture the unique biology of rare cancers and make progress possible where few options exist.

Microtumor models: Tiny 3D tumor samples created directly from patient tissue that preserve the complexity of the original cancer and allow rapid testing of therapies.
Patient-derived xenografts (PDX): Tumor tissue implanted into mice, which provides a living system to study how cancers behave and respond to treatment over time.
2D culture cell lines: Cancer cells grown in a dish, which provide a simple and widely used system for experiments and drug discovery.

All TRACER models are freely available to academic labs. Let’s collaborate to accelerate discoveries in rare cancers.