Objective

 Recent advances in our understanding of stem cell niche factors and modulators have fuelled the development of 3D “organoid” culture systems which rely on an artificial extracellular matrix. Tumour organoids can be derived from primary tissue and provide a stable in vitro platform on which cancer cells retain their ability to self-organise and self-renew indefinitely.

                The value of existing 2D cell lines is restricted by their failure to reflect the tumour architecture, the effects of prolonged in vitro culturing, and bias in the set of cell lines available. Cancer organoids have been shown to recapitulate several properties of the original tumour and are amenable to routine molecular biology approaches, including drug sensitivity testing. The derivation of a large biobank of tumour organoids has the potential to provide an appropriate pre-clinical model to facilitate more informed therapeutic strategies and pave the way for precision medicine.