
Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) have shown promise in modeling cancer therapy response, but their application in clinical decision-making is difficult. Results of a study that sought to address this challenge by developing a disposable nozzle-type cell spotter for efficient high-throughput screening (HTS) of cells from malignant pleural effusion were presented at the ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies Congress 2024.
The researchers collected cells from 14 patients with lung cancer. They used the HTS cell spotter for analysis along with the cancer organoid-based diagnosis reactivity prediction (CODRP) index, considering cancer cell proliferation rate and area under the curve (AUC) values, to evaluate epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) drug sensitivity. Results were then compared with those obtained using the conventional AUC index.
Study findings showed the conventional AUC index did not effectively differentiate patients into sensitive and resistant groups for EGFR-TKI treatment. However, the CODRP index-based drug sensitivity test consistently correlated with the clinical drug treatment response, demonstrating the reliability of the CODRP index in predicting EGFR-TKI efficacy within a clinically suitable timeline of 14 days.