Organoids From Mucinous Appendiceal Adenocarcinomas as High-Fidelity Models for Individual Therapy

A systematic review on the culture methods and applications of 3D tumoroids for cancer research and personalized medicine

Cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease, and thus treatment responses vary greatly between patients. To improve therapy efficacy and outcome for cancer patients, more representative and patient-specific preclinical models are needed. Organoids and tumoroids are 3D cell culture models that typically retain the genetic and epigenetic characteristics, as well as the morphology, of their tissue of origin. Thus, they can be used to understand the underlying mechanisms of cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis in a more physiological setting. Additionally, co-culture methods of tumoroids and cancer-associated cells can help to understand the interplay between a tumor and its tumor microenvironment. In recent years, tumoroids have already helped to refine treatments and to identify new targets for cancer therapy. Advanced culturing systems such as chip-based fluidic devices and bioprinting methods in combination with tumoroids have been used for high-throughput applications for personalized medicine. Even though organoid and tumoroid models are complex in vitro systems, validation of results in vivo is still the common practice. Here, we describe how both animal- and human-derived tumoroids have helped to identify novel vulnerabilities for cancer treatment in recent years, and how they are currently used for precision medicine.

Signaling pathways and therapeutic interventions in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) ranks fifth in global cancer diagnosis and fourth in cancer-related death. Despite tremendous progress in diagnosis and therapeutic strategies and significant improvements in patient survival, the low malignancy stage is relatively asymptomatic and many GC cases are diagnosed at advanced stages, which leads to unsatisfactory prognosis and high recurrence rates. With the recent advances in genome analysis, biomarkers have been identified that have clinical importance for GC diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Modern molecular classifications have uncovered the vital roles that signaling pathways, including EGFR/HER2, p53, PI3K, immune checkpoint pathways, and cell adhesion signaling molecules, play in GC tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic responsiveness. These biomarkers and molecular classifications open the way for more precise diagnoses and treatments for GC patients. Nevertheless, the relative significance, temporal activation, interaction with GC risk factors, and crosstalk between these signaling pathways in GC are not well understood. Here, we review the regulatory roles of signaling pathways in GC potential biomarkers, and therapeutic targets with an emphasis on recent discoveries. Current therapies, including signaling-based and immunotherapies exploited in the past decade, and the development of treatment for GC, particularly the challenges in developing precision medications, are discussed. These advances provide a direction for the integration of clinical, molecular, and genomic profiles to improve GC diagnosis and treatments.