RESEARCH
Organoid screening In a study published 7 May, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Trust Institute in Cambridge, UK and Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, Netherlands, revealed that organoids derived from the tumors of cancer patients mimicked properties found in the real biopsies, making them useful for the screening of oncologic drugs (Cell, 161, 933–945, 2015 ). The researchers grew 22 organoids derived from the tumors of colorectal cancer patients and found that the genomic mutations in the organoid cultures closely matched those in the corresponding tumors. The researchers also tested the organoids' responses to 83 experimental and approved cancer drugs and identified previously reported associations between specific mutations and resistance to particular drugs. “This is the first time that a collection of cancer organoids, or a living biobank, has been derived from patient tumors,” Mathew Garnett, senior author of the study, said in a press release. “We believe that these organoids are an important new tool in the arsenal of cancer biologists.
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