Diagnostic methods

1. A method for determining one or more properties of a tumour in a patient, the method comprising:

seeding a 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold obtained from the tumour in the patient with cancer cells, wherein the cancer cells are not taken from the tumour in the patient;

culturing the cancer cells in the scaffold;

assaying the cultured cancer cells for the presence of target molecules indicative of the expression of one or more genes in the cells; and

determining one or more properties of the tumour from which the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold was obtained based on the presence of target molecules indicative of the expression of one or more genes in the cells in the assay; and wherein the one or more genes are selected from the group consisting of:

ACTN1; AIFM1; ALDH2; ALDOA; ANXA1; AP1B1; AP2B1; ATM; ATXN1; BAG2; BAG3; BHLHE40; BIRC5; BTBD2; BYSL; C3; CAMK2B; CAMK4; CARD11; CASP3; CAV1; CEACAM1; CHD3; COL17A1; CRCT1; DAPK1; DMD; DPYSL2; DYSF; E2F1; EGFR; EIF2AK3; EP300; EPOR; ERBB3; ESR1; FANCC; FEN1; FHIT; FKBP5; FN1; FOS; FRMD6; GADD45A; GADD45G; GOLM1; GSN; GSTP1; HCK; HDAC5; HSPB1; HSPD1; IGF1R; IL4R; ITGA6; ITGB4; JAK1; JUN; KAT2B; KIF15; KRT18; KRT8; LYST; LRP1; LRPS; MAP2; MAP3K14; MAP3K5; MAPK3; MAPKAPK3; MST1R; NDRG1; NME1-NME2; NOS3; NPAS2; NPHP1; NQO1; NR3C; PIK3CG; PAEP; PAK1; PARK2; PARP1; PDE4D; PFN2; PIM1; PTN; PKD1; PLA2G4A; PLD1; PPARGC1A; PPL; PPM1A; PPP1R15A; PPP2R1B; PRKCA; PRNP; PSG9; PSME3; RABAC1; RAC2; RASA1; RBL1; RGS2; RPS6KA3; RUNX1T1; SH2B3; SH3GL3; SLC9A3R1; SMAD4; SNX9; SORBS2; SOX9;SP1; SPG7; SREBF1; STUB1; SUMO4; SVIL; TGFB1 11; TH; TNFAIP3; TNFRSF14; TNIK; TP73; TPD52L1; TRIO; TUBA1A; VIM; WEE1; XPO5;YAP1; and ZNF259.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the tumour is a breast cancer tumour.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the one or more properties of the tumour from which the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold was obtained are selected from invasiveness, migration, tumour malignancy grade, tumour malignancy potential, tumour recurrence, resistance to treatment and tumour proliferation.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the one or more genes are one or more markers of tumour progression.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the one or more markers of tumour progression are selected from markers of proliferation, markers of differentiation, markers of cancer stem cells, and markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the cancer cells are breast cancer cells.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the cancer cells are selected from MCF7, MDA231 and T47D cells.

8. A method according to claim 1 which further comprises obtaining the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold from the tumour in the patient.

9. A method for determining a suitable treatment for a patient with a tumour, the method comprising:

determining one or more properties of the tumour from which the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold was obtained by a method according to claim 1 ; and

determining a suitable treatment based on the properties of the tumour from which the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold was obtained.

10. A method of treating a patient with a tumour, the method comprising:

determining the suitability of a treatment in the patient by a method according to claim 9 ; and

applying the treatment to the patient.

11. A method of treating patient with a tumour, the method comprising:

determining one or more properties of the tumour from which the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold was obtained in the patient by a method according to claim 1 ;

selecting a suitable treatment based on the one or more properties of the tumour from which the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold was obtained; and

providing the treatment to the patient.

12. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the patient is a human patient.

13. A method according to claim 2 wherein the one or more properties of the tumour from which the 3-dimensional cell-free scaffold was obtained are selected from invasiveness, migration, tumour malignancy grade, tumour malignancy potential, tumour recurrence, resistance to treatment and tumour proliferation.