*Colorectal diseases
Colorectal diseases (CRDs) comprise a range of medical conditions affecting the mucosal and submucosal layers of the colon and rectum. They affect approximately 5 out of 1,000 people in Europe, impacting more than 2.2 million people. These disorders range from benign inflammatory lesions to polyps and tumours.
Familial adenomatous polyposis and ulcerative colitis
Familial adenomatous polyposis is an autosomal syndrome that, if left untreated, can progress to colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer death.
Ulcerative colitis is a long-term condition characterised by chronic inflammation and ulcers in the colon. For mild UC there are several treatment options but despite the breadth of these treatment modalities, about 30% of patients does not respond adequately over time to these conservative procedures.
For both specifical diseases the last resort is often an invasive endoscopic surgery called proctolectomy that has multiple early and long-term clinical consequences on the patient’s quality of life. This highlights the urgent need for a new minimally invasive surgical alternative.
*TENTACLE’s strategy
TENTACLE wants to attain a complete in situ bioprinting kit. The bioinstruments will be a combination of the patient’s own cells and natural biomaterials specifically designed to be printed directly onto the remaining layer of colorectal tissue and enriched with micro- and nanocarriers that provide advanced active pharmaceuticals. Once proven its effectiveness, the TENTACLE kit could be used for other clinical applications where mucosal and submucosal regeneration is required.
