Comprehensive histopathological analysis of gastric cancer in European and Latin America populations reveals differences in PDL1, HER2, p53 and MUC6 expression.

Introduction: Gastric cancer (GC) burden is currently evolving with regional differences associated with complex behavioural, environmental, and genetic risk factors. The LEGACy study is a Horizon 2020-funded multi-institutional research project conducted prospectively to provide comprehensive data on the tumour biological characteristics of gastroesophageal cancer from European and LATAM countries.

Material And Methods: Treatment-naïve advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma patients were prospectively recruited in seven European and LATAM countries.

Generation, Expansion, and Biobanking of Gastrointestinal Patient-Derived Organoids from Tumor and Normal Tissues.

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) generated from adult stem cells present in tissues are invaluable tools for translational cancer research (Drost, Clevers, Nat Rev Cancer 18(7):407-418, 2018). The generation of this 3D cultures is not trivial and requires dedicated procedures. Despite the rapid increase in the use of organoids in cancer research, it is noteworthy that published procedures regarding their generation often lack critical information and standardized protocols remain elusive.

How organoids can improve personalized treatment in patients with gastro-esophageal tumors.

Gastro-esophageal tumors constitute a big health problem. Treatment options still mainly rely on chemotherapy, and apart from human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive and microsatellite instable/Epstein-Barr Virus disease, there are no molecularly guided options. Therefore, despite the large number of identified molecular alterations, precision medicine is still far from the clinic.

"Proteotranscriptomic analysis of advanced colorectal cancer patient derived organoids for drug sensitivity prediction".

Background: Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) from advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) patients could be a key platform to predict drug response and discover new biomarkers. We aimed to integrate PDO drug response with multi-omics characterization beyond genomics.

Methods: We generated 29 PDO lines from 22 advanced CRC patients and provided a morphologic, genomic, and transcriptomic characterization.

Will Organoids Fill the Gap towards Functional Precision Medicine?

Precision medicine approaches for solid tumors are mainly based on genomics. Its employment in clinical trials has led to somewhat underwhelming results, except for single responses. Moreover, several factors can influence the response, such as gene and protein expression, the coexistence of different genomic alterations or post-transcriptional/translational modifications, the impact of tumor microenvironment, etc.