close
close
Skip to main content
metropolis

Using laboratory-grown 3D organoids to identify sarcoma treatments

Vaseline 1 month ago

Using tiny 3D models that mimic a patient’s tumor, UCLA researchers can quickly test hundreds of potential drugs

Researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have used cells from sarcoma patients to develop the largest collection of laboratory-grown 3D mini-tumors, or “organoids,” to better understand this rare cancer and identify therapies most likely to treat each individual will work. patient.

Their approach is detailed in the most recent issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Sarcomas, which develop in the bones and soft tissues, account for less than 1% of cancer cases but have a high mortality rate, especially among young people. The rarity and diversity of sarcomas – there are more than 100 subtypes – make them particularly difficult to study. And patients’ responses to conventional therapies vary widely, making finding the most effective approach for each person “akin to looking for a needle in a haystack,” said Alice Soragni, lead author of the study.

How do cancer organoids work?

Using a person’s own tumor cells, scientists create smaller 3D versions of their tumors in the laboratory, usually within a week. These organoids mimic the function and key characteristics of a person’s individual tumor and can be used to quickly test hundreds of potential drugs.

The researchers collected a biobank of 294 samples from 126 UCLA patients diagnosed with 25 different sarcoma subtypes and successfully created organoids from more than 110 samples. They then subjected these organoids to high-throughput drug screening using the mini-ring pipeline developed by Soragni and her team.

Identifying possible treatments

The team was able to identify at least one potentially effective U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for 59% of the samples tested. Furthermore, they found that in a small number of cases, the drug responses observed in the laboratory matched how the patients themselves responded to treatment, suggesting that these organoids could be a powerful tool in guiding clinical decisions.

Read more about the study on the UCLA Health website.