Patient-Derived Organoids as Predictive Biomarker for Cancer Treatment Response
This review and pooled analysis of 17 studies evaluates patient-derived organoids (PDOs) as functional predictive biomarkers for individualized cancer treatment. PDOs enable ex vivo drug sensitivity testing on patient-specific tumour tissue, with promising analytical and clinical validity reported across gastrointestinal, breast, and other cancers. For clinical laboratories, organoid-based drug response testing represents a fundamentally different class of companion diagnostic, though standardization and turnaround time remain barriers to routine implementation.
The original study
Patient-derived organoids as a predictive biomarker for treatment response in cancer patients.
- Authors
- Wensink GE, Elias SG, Mullenders J, Koopman M, Boj SF, Kranenburg OW, et al.
- Journal
- NPJ precision oncology
- Type
- Journal Article, Review
- PMID
- 33846504
Original abstract
Effective predictive biomarkers are needed to enable personalized medicine and increase treatment efficacy and survival for cancer patients, thereby reducing toxic side effects and treatment costs. Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) enable individualized tumour response testing. Since 2018, 17 publications have examined PDOs as a potential predictive biomarker in the treatment of cancer patients. We review and provide a pooled analysis of the results regarding the use of PDOs in individualized tumour response testing, focusing on evidence for analytical validity, clinical validity and clinical utility. We identify future perspectives to accelerate the implementation of PDOs as a predictive biomarker in the treatment of cancer patients.