Prostate Cancer Researchers Use Organoids to Identify Critical Risk Factors | Cancer Research | Corning

While almost every type of cancer presents ongoing challenges to researchers, prostate cancer has always been shrouded in particular mystery. The causes of prostate tumor formation are still only partly understood, and the symptoms of this cancer often diverge wildly and resemble those of less serious conditions. Traditional cell culture experiments have failed to produce the insights researchers are searching for, so prostate cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers in the world.

That's why the introduction of widely availableprostate organoidshas generated so much excitement among researchers and patients. These 3D structures combine multiple cell types to provide a more accurate model ofin vivoprostate behavior. Perhaps even more importantly, they can be grown from patient tissue biopsies.

Researchers have a powerful new tool at their disposal, and with it they can now conduct accurate, patient-specific research.

Decades in the Making

Organoids, like the organs they model, are incredibly complex constructions, so researchers must grow them the same way the body does: from stem cells. Years of research slowly derived the sequence ofnutrientsand growth signals needed to stimulate these prostate stem cells to differentiate and grow. When provided the right environment, the stem cells' evolved genetic programming does the rest.

Given some dedication, this approach can lead to a sequence of spheroids or organoids that collectively represent an organ or a sequence of tissue types. These spheroids and organoids can then be freighted together tocreate multi-step experimental platesthat generate a comprehensive genetic assay quickly enough to allow doctors to prescribe personalized treatment regimens.

这种方法收益率patient-derived瀑样那t embody the unique attributes of the cancer growing in each patient. That's a breakthrough every cancer researcher would love to see — and, given the incredible potential of prostate organoids for cancer research, one they very likely will.

The Research Gets Personal

As with most cancers, the main challenge stems from thediversity of diseasesunder the umbrella of prostate cancer. That's where organoids come in: They enable the quick development of patient-derived cell models that behave much more likein vivoprostate tissue and precisely express the arrangement of oncogenes found in a specific patient or research subject.

This approachhas the potentialto let researchers get past the sheer variety of prostate cancers by illuminating unusual interactions between oncogenes and see through unusual disease phenotypes to the genotype beneath.

The goal is to devise an organoid-based approach that lets doctors convert tissue biopsies into patient-specific test beds. More than that, the aim is to develop a reliable, systematic regimen of tests that can be applied to the organoid and reveal its specific pattern of oncogene expression.

When paired with concerted research to associate patterns of gene expression with receptivity to treatments, an organoid-based approach can facilitate a personalized treatment regime.

The Next Decade Looks Bright

Prostate cancers are far from the only cancers that can benefit from the organoid approach. Recent progress made using organoids in thestudy of lung cancershows promise for application to all kinds of cancer.

With a sizable set of tools to create new organoid models now available to them, researchers can choose theappropriate growth mediaand get to work. Thanks to quick and affordablewhole-genome sequencingand agrowing catalogof equipment tailored to organoid research, the use of organoid models in cancer research is getting quicker and better characterized.

The potential to cure prostate cancer would be big enough on its own. But as a model to be applied to a broad spectrum of diseases, the organoid cancer research model becomes even more exciting.