Organoid technology and applications in cancer research

Hanxiao Xu,Kongming Wu,Yongping Song,Xiaodong Lyu,Ming Yi,Weiheng Zhao

doi:10.1186/s13045-018-0662-9

Abstract

During the past decade, the three-dimensional organoid technology has sprung up and become more and more popular among researchers. Organoids are the miniatures of in vivo tissues and organs, and faithfully recapitulate the architectures and distinctive functions of a specific organ.These amazing three-dimensional constructs represent a promising, near-physiological model for human cancers, and tremendously support diverse potential applications in cancer research. Up to now, highly efficient establishment of organoids can be achieved from both normal and malignant tissues of patients. Using this bioengineered platform, the links of infection-cancer progression and mutation-carcinogenesis are feasible to be modeled. Another potential application is that organoid technology facilitates drug testing and guides personalized therapy. Although organoids still fail to model immune system accurately, co-cultures of organoids and lymphocytes have been reported in several studies, bringing hope for further application of this technology in immunotherapy. In addition, the potential value in regeneration medicine might be another paramount branch of organoid technology, which might refine current transplantation therapy through the replacement of irreversibly progressively diseased organs with isogenic healthy organoids.In conclusion, organoids represent an excellent preclinical model for human tumors, promoting the translation from basic cancer research to clinical practice. In this review, we outline organoid technology and summarize its applications in cancer research.

Highlights

During the past decades, enormous efforts have been exerted to cancer research [1, 2] and substantial progresses have been achieved in diagnosis [3, 4] and treatment [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]
Due to poor recapitulation of human tumors by conventional cancer models, numerous drugs working in these cancer models are eliminated in clinical trials because of either ineffectiveness or unbearable side effects
The results showed that in vitro cell line model was predictive for non-small cell lung cancer under the disease-oriented approach, but not for colon cancer [94]

Summary

Background

Enormous efforts have been exerted to cancer research [1, 2] and substantial progresses have been achieved in diagnosis [3, 4] and treatment [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Three basic features are as follows: firstly, it contains multiple cell types of the in vivo counterpart; secondly, the cells organize to the primary tissue; thirdly, it functions to the parent organ [16]. This powerful technology bridges the conventional 2D in vitro models and in vivo models, and exerts great potential for clinical applications (Fig. 2), especially in cancer research [17]. Apart from cancer modeling, organoid technology exerts enormous potential in evaluation of efficacy and toxicity of drugs [26], Human embryonic tissues Patient

D Drug safety testing

Findings

Conclusion