Author Spotlight: Establishment of Pancreatic Cancer-Derived Tumor Organoids and Fibroblasts From Fresh Tissue

The development of tumor models for translational research. We use these models to test new drugs that can be applied in the clinic for personalized medicine. Advanced in vitro and in vivo models that have been developed from many different tumor types that are more physiological relevant than the 2D models that have traditionally been used in cancer research.

Design models that mimic the shape of the original organ, such as colon grips, are being used for in vitro models. Furthermore, these models and corresponding primary tissue are characterized using techniques, such as spatial transcriptomics, that allow specific areas and cell types within the tumor to be analyzed separately. The quality of the tissue is an important factor.

From prior treatment of the patients prior to harvesting, time of culture establishment, from tissue harvesting, tumor cell content and contamination by microorganisms, and non-desired cell populations such as fibroblasts. We have identified molecular subgroups of patients that may respond differently to therapy in the clinic. For this, we needed to develop preclinical models to test our hypothesis before moving to clinical trials.

Here, we try to address a problem of a standardized protocol that can be used for pancreatic tumor tissue, either directly from the primary tumor or from a PDX model. Many protocols have been reported, but this is the first one that has a corresponding video that is very useful for people starting to work with this type of culture. We also talk extensively about the many pitfalls and troubleshooting options that can be used.