A method for culturing patient-derived lung cancer organoids from surgically resected tissues and biopsy samples

Abstract

Cancer model systems that maintain the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of human cancers are crucial for the study of precision cancer medicine. In this respect, patient-derived cancer organoids have been developed as preclinical models of various human cancers, with significant advantages over previous cancer models including patient-derived xenografts and cell lines. We recently reported a culture system of patient-derived lung cancer organoids (LCOs) that retain the characteristics of patients’ tumors. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for establishing LCOs from surgically resected tumor tissues and endoscopic biopsy samples. This method improves the efficiency of setting up LCOs composed of pure cancer cells and describes an additional procedure for reconstructing LCOs after cryopreservation. We confirmed that stored LCOs had the ability to self-organize and retain the morphological and genetic characteristics of their parental tissues. They also maintained their responsive properties to certain anticancer drugs after thawing. In conclusion, our method efficiently generates LCOs that enable anticancer drug screening at the individual patient level.