How Far Has Organoid Technology Come?

Have you heard of organoids?

Simply put, organoids are “mini-organs” created in a laboratory using human cells. For cancer patients, researchers can create organoids from tumor tissue and test different cancer drugs in the laboratory to see how the tumor cells may respond.

Organoids are not yet at the stage where they can determine the best treatment for every patient. However, they are rapidly developing as an important precision-medicine technology that could change cancer treatment and drug development.

Why Are Organoids Receiving So Much Attention?

Testing a Patient’s Cancer in the Laboratory

Traditionally, doctors use pathology tests, genetic testing, imaging, and other clinical information to determine treatment. Organoids add another possibility: researchers can test several drugs directly on mini-tumors created from a patient’s tumor cells.

Studies involving colorectal cancer patients have shown that organoid drug-response results can help guide treatment decisions. Some studies have also found a strong relationship between how a patient responds to treatment and how the patient’s organoid responds in the laboratory.

However, a drug that works well on an organoid does not necessarily mean it will work in the patient. The accuracy and limitations of organoid testing are still being evaluated through research and clinical studies.

U.S. Regulations Are Also Changing

A Move Toward Reducing Animal Testing

In the United States, interest is growing in using human-cell-based technologies such as organoids and organ-on-a-chip systems in drug development.

The FDA Modernization Act 2.0, enacted in 2022, established a legal pathway for using non-animal methods in the preclinical development of new drugs.

The FDA is also actively exploring new approaches that use organoids, organ-on-a-chip systems, and other new approach methodologies as part of nonclinical drug development.

The FDA Modernization Act 3.0 is another effort to modernize the traditional animal-testing-centered drug development system. However, organoids have not completely replaced animal testing.

New York and New Jersey Are Active Research Centers

Weill Cornell Medicine

The Englander Institute for Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan is conducting important research using patient-derived tumor organoids. Researchers have developed large organoid libraries and are studying treatment responses across different cancer types.

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

At Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, researchers are using patient-derived organoids to study cancer biology and drug responses.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York is also conducting patient-derived organoid research in several cancer types, including colorectal and pancreatic cancer.

Can Patients Participate?

Clinical Trials and Tissue Donation Studies Are the Most Realistic Options

At present, access to organoid-based treatment for the general public is still limited.

If you are scheduled for cancer surgery or a biopsy, you can ask your oncologist, “Can my tissue be used for an organoid research or biobank study?”

Patients can also search ClinicalTrials.gov using their cancer type together with the word “organoid” to find related clinical trials and research studies.

It is important to understand that participating in research does not automatically mean receiving organoid-guided treatment. Patients should ask about the purpose of the study, how their tissue will be used, and whether the research results will directly affect their treatment.

What Does the Future Hold?

Organoids are not yet an established treatment. However, their ability to reproduce aspects of a patient’s cancer in the laboratory and compare potential treatment responses makes them an important emerging technology in precision medicine.

New York and New Jersey are particularly important areas to watch because institutions such as Weill Cornell Medicine, Rutgers, and Memorial Sloan Kettering are actively developing organoid and precision-medicine research.

The most important question for the future is whether large clinical studies will show that organoid-guided approaches can actually improve treatment outcomes, survival, or quality of life for patients.