Patient-derived tumor organoids: a new avenue for preclinical research and precision medicine in oncology.

Over the past decade, the emergence of patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) has broadened the repertoire of preclinical models and progressively revolutionized three-dimensional cell culture in oncology. PDTO can be grown from patient tumor samples with high efficiency and faithfully recapitulates the histological and molecular characteristics of the original tumor. Therefore, PDTOs can serve as invaluable tools in oncology research, and their translation to clinical practice is exciting for the future of precision medicine in oncology.

Comparative analysis of response to treatments and molecular features of tumor-derived organoids versus cell lines and PDX derived from the same ovarian clear cell carcinoma.

Background: In the era of personalized medicine, the establishment of preclinical models of cancer that faithfully recapitulate original tumors is essential to potentially guide clinical decisions.

Methods: We established 7 models [4 cell lines, 2 Patient-Derived Tumor Organoids (PDTO) and 1 Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX)], all derived from the same Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma (OCCC). To determine the relevance of each of these models, comprehensive characterization was performed based on morphological, histological, and transcriptomic analyses as well as on the evaluation of their response to the treatments received by the patient.

[Patient-derived tumor organoids (or tumoroid) as valuable precision medicine tools].

Review of literature shows that it is possible to establish tumor-derived organoids, or tumoroids, from almost any type of tumor, and that these "micro-tumors" could be used to develop functional assays allowing the prediction of the patient response to treatments and/or the identification of predictive molecular signatures associated with the development of these therapies. Although it is still essential to optimize culture conditions to promote and accelerate the establishment of tumoroids, or to recapitulate tumor microenvironment, many applications are now possible in the field of prediction of response to treatments and in guiding therapeutic decision-making. Using tumoroids as standard tools in clinical oncology could make precision oncology enter a new era in the coming decade.

[Patient-derived tumor organoids (or tumoroid), a growing preclinical model for oncology].

The recent emergence of tumor organoid cultures, or tumoroids, has enriched the repertoire of preclinical models in oncology. These microtumors are obtained in vitro by including cells from patient tumor samples in an extracellular matrix and cultured in specific media. Very close to the tumor of origin, tumoroids can be amplified fairly rapidly from a small quantity of tissue, established with high success rate for most tumor types, easily genetically engineered, and stored in biobanks.