BACKGROUND: High-risk neuroblastoma accounts for 15% of pediatric cancer mortality, with survival rates stagnating at 50%. While spatial transcriptomics (ST) offers a path to understanding the tumor microenvironment and therapy resistance, current commercial platforms are either cost-prohibitive, low resolutions and/or lack sensitivity required for precious clinical samples.
AIMS: To develop a high-resolution, cost-effective ST platform (approximately €100/array) tailored for investigating the spatial effects of innovative targeted therapies in neuroblastoma.
METHODS: Our platform utilizes custom-printed microarrays featuring four subarrays, each containing ± 85,000 spots (13.