Primary tumor organoids are a robust model of individual human cancers and present a unique platform for patient-specific drug testing. Optical imaging is uniquely suited to assess organoid function and behavior because of its subcellular resolution, penetration depth through the entire organoid, and functional endpoints. Specifically, optical metabolic imaging (OMI) is highly sensitive to drug response in organoids, and OMI in tumor organoids correlates with primary tumor drug response. Therefore, an OMI organoid drug screen could enable accurate testing of drug response for individualized cancer treatment. The objective of this perspective is to introduce OMI and tumor organoids to a general audience in order to foster the adoption of these techniques in diverse clinical and laboratory settings.
Keywords: 3D culture; cancer drug screens; fluorescence imaging; multiphoton microscopy; optical; primary human spheroids.
© 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.