Organoid models for translational pancreatic cancer research

Abstract

Despite recent advances in the treatment of cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) still retains the worst survival rate of common malignancies. Late diagnosis and lack of curative therapeutic options are the most pressing clinical problems for this disease. Therefore, there is a need for patient models and biomarkers that can be applied in the clinic to identify the most effective therapy for a patient. Pancreatic ductal organoids are ex-vivo models of PDAC that can be established from very small biopsies, enabling the study of localized, advanced, and metastatic patients. Organoids models have been applied to pancreatic cancer research and offer a promising platform for precision medicine approaches.

Figure 1:

Patient-derived organoids and stromal cells, such as immune cells and cancer associated fibroblasts, can be isolated from small and large tissue samples. Organoids cultures can recapitulate clonal heterogeneity of the neoplastic tissue. the Molecular (DNA/RNA) and phenotypic (drug testing) characterization of mono- and co-culture systems can provide actionable clinical insights for cancer patients at all stages of the disease.