A l'UM la science [S01-ep10]: From circulating tumor cells to robots inspired by climbing plants

This week, Catherine Alix Panabières, head of the Rare Human Circulating Cells laboratory, tells us all about liquid biopsy, a new therapeutic tool for better cancer prevention and treatment. In the second half of the program, Nick Rowe from the Botany and Plant Architecture Modeling Laboratory.

Lung, prostate, breast, colon, bone... It's rare not to have someone close to them with cancer, when they're not affected themselves. According to the FrenchNational Cancer Institute, in 2018 382,000 new cases were detected in mainland France. 58,000 concerned breast cancer alone, the most deadly for women aged 35 to 65. 1 in 8 will face it one day. These figures have been rising steadily over the past 30 years.

An alarming, even pessimistic assessment, but fortunately science and its discoveries are clearing the air a little. Among all the avenues that science is helping to open up, one is particularly promising: CTCs (circulating tumor cells). By "transporting" the cancer through our blood vessels, these cells also provide precious clues as to the possible evolution of the disease and the best treatments to adopt.

In 2020, a trial conducted at Montpellier University Hospital demonstrated, for the first time worldwide, the clinical usefulness of CTCs in the choice of treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Catherine Alix-Panabières, our guest today, is Director of the Rare Human Circulating Cells Laboratory at Montpellier University Hospital. She has been working in this field for over 20 years, revolutionizing the approach by inventing the concept of liquid biopsy. Her work is recognized worldwide, as evidenced by the numerous awards she has won along the way.

In the second half of the show, we take you to the Amap laboratory, botany and plant and vegetation architecture modeling, and your guide is Nick Rowe. He takes us on a tour of the histology and biomechanics technical platform, and tells us how climbing plants can inspire the creation of new robots. This research is part of a European project called GrowBot.

At UM la science you've got the program, here we go!

Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production: Anna Demeulandre

Listen to the program "A l'UM la science" on Divergence FM 93.9