Researchers are combining histological information obtained through traditional pathology (pink and purple) with molecular data acquired through cutting-edge multiplexed imaging (fluorescent green, yellow, red, and blue) to build detailed maps of colorectal cancer.

An overview of colorectal cancer samples used to create 2D and 3D maps.

A multiplexed image of the colon showing normal cells (left) transitioning into cancer cells (right). The different colors indicate molecular features such as DNA, tumor cells, and immune cells. The researchers hope to study such transitions to learn more about how colorectal cancer forms and progresses.

Scientists created a 3D reconstruction of colorectal cancer that showed previously unknown structural features of the disease and how they’re connected.