Breast cancer organoids derived from patients: A platform for tailored drug screening

Abstract

Breast cancer stands as the most prevalent and heterogeneous malignancy affecting women globally, posing a substantial health concern. Enhanced comprehension of tumor pathology and the development of novel therapeutics are pivotal for advancing breast cancer treatment. Contemporary breast cancer investigation heavily leans on in vivo models and conventional cell culture techniques. Nonetheless, these approaches often encounter high failure rates in clinical trials due to species disparities and tissue structure variations. To address this, three-dimensional cultivation of organoids, resembling organ-like structures, has emerged as a promising alternative. Organoids represent innovative in vitro models that mirror in vivo tissue microenvironments. They retain the original tumor's diversity and facilitate the expansion of tumor samples from diverse origins, facilitating the representation of varying tumor stages. Optimized breast cancer organoid models, under precise culture conditions, offer benefits including convenient sample acquisition, abbreviated cultivation durations, and genetic stability. These attributes ensure a faithful replication of in vivo traits of breast cancer cells. As intricate cellular entities boasting spatial arrangements, breast cancer organoid models harbor substantial potential in precision medicine, organ transplantation, modeling intricate diseases, gene therapy, and drug innovation. This review delivers an overview of organoid culture techniques and outlines future prospects for organoid modeling.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer research; Drug development; Organoid.