Patient Derived tumor Organoid Immuno-Oncology (PDO-IO) model development for combinatorial immuno-oncological (IO) treatment evaluation

The HUB and its academic partners, the Hubrecht Institute and the UMCU, have shown that adult stem cells can give rise to organoids, known as mini-organs, when culture in the laboratory. These organoids are very similar to the original tissue and have the diseases of that tissue, such as cancer, and can therefore be used to develop new medicines. These models are needed, as cancer causes almost a third of all Dutch deaths. Recently, a new type of cancer medication has been developed that uses the immune system to fight cancer.

For example, the drugs activate immune cells that are at rest or inactivated by the tumour. A more complex model system is needed to develop and test these new drugs. Ideally, such a model combines human immune and tumour cells. Such a thing is unthinkable with traditionally widely used cell lines, and animal models are also not helpful because their immune system differs too much from that of humans. The results of this project have shown that organoids and immune cells can indeed be cultured simultaneously and used to develop and test anti-cancer drugs.

In this project, we also set up biobanks of organoids for lung and colon cancer in combination with the immune cells of the same patients. We have developed a large-scale, accurate screening test that allows us to test various immunological drugs in the fight against cancer. We are doing this with the renowned pharmaceutical company GSK. In addition to new medicines, we are putting Organoid technology on the frontline of innovative research to cure cancer.