Why intact TME is essential for oncology drug development
It might seem obvious, and yet today a significant proportion of oncology drug discovery and development is still done in cell lines organoids and animal models rather than in fresh patient tumor tissue. The challenge comes when trying to translate what has been seen in standard models into the clinical environment with patients.
Every model has its value in the drug discovery process. However, when the time comes to translate your discoveries into the clinic, you need to test your drugs in fresh human tumor tissue. Why?
Firstly, the immune compartment in humans is different to the traditional animal model of the mouse. Also, the cost and time required to develop suitable mouse models are considerable and are unlikely to fully recapitulate the response seem in human tumors.
Secondly, as has been frequently discussed, whilst cell lines may be useful primary screening tools, they simply do not reflect the complexity of the tumor microenvironment or the real response you will see in tumors.
Thirdly, attempting to recapitulate tumors through the artificial propagation of dissociated tumor cells to create organoids may be useful as a screening tool, but can never completely reflect the complex, compensatory extracellular matrix in the tumor microenvironment. When the ECM/TME is stripped from tumors, response to immune modulatory agents is completed altered1.
Why not talk to Nilogen about how retaining the TME in tumoroids derived from fresh human tumor tissue in 3D-EXplore provides the ideal model to test your novel therapeutic.
1. Agrawal V, Mediavilla-Varela M, Page MM, Kreahling J, Altiok S. Abstract 42: The importance of intact tumor immune microenvironment in unpropagated 3D fresh patient tumoroids in immune-oncology drug testing for immunogenic tumor cell death and T-cell activation. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA. March 29 – April 3, 2019. Cancer Research. 2019; 79:13. DOI: 0.1158/1538-7445.AM2019-42
