Establishment of patient-derived organoids and a characterization-based drug discovery platform for treatment of pancreatic cancer

Background Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal tumors. The aim of this study is to provide an effective therapeutic discovery platform for pancreatic cancer by establishing and characterizing patient-derived organoids (PDOs). Methods PDOs were established from pancreatic tumor surgical specimens, and the mutations were examined using a panel sequence. Expression of markers was assessed by PCR, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry; tumorigenicity was examined using immunodeficient mice, and drug responses were examined in vitro and in vivo. Results PDOs were established from eight primary and metastatic tumors, and the characteristic mutations and expression of cancer stem cell markers and CA19–9 were confirmed. Tumorigenicity of the PDOs was confirmed in subcutaneous transplantation and in the peritoneal cavity in the case of PDOs derived from disseminated nodules. Gemcitabine-sensitive/resistant PDOs showed consistent responses in vivo. High throughput screening in PDOs identified a compound effective for inhibiting tumor growth of a gemcitabine-resistant PDO xenograft model. Conclusions This PDO-based platform captures important aspects of treatment-resistant pancreatic cancer and its metastatic features, suggesting that this study may serve as a tool for the discovery of personalized therapies.