Emphasis on Organoids in Cancer Research

Cancer has been one of the deadliest diseases for several decades and there is no precise and standard treatment option available up to date. Statistical data indicate that cancer has been one of the principal reasons for mortality worldwide. Although most of the novel techniques assist in the acceleration of cancer research, the available anticancer therapy does not exhibit expected success rates. This is due to a lack of understanding about the root cause of the disease, which can be accomplished by studying different types of tumors and the effects of various anti-cancer agents on the tumors. These studies require various in vitro study models which can mimic real, in vivo cancers. Conventional experimental models such as animal models, two-dimensional (2D) cell lines, patient-derived xenografts (PDX) are key models in cancer study but they have some shortcomings that are overcome by three-dimensional (3D), in-vitro tumor organoids derived from embryonic, induced pluripotent, or adult stem cells (ESCs, iPSCs, ASCs respectively). These organoid models closely recapitulate the original tumor present in vivo and thereby benefit in studying the development of cancer, efficacy, and safety of various anti-cancer agents, drug development, personalized therapy, low and high throughput screening. As a result, 3D organoids are becoming more successful experimental models over conventional 2D models. Therefore, this review emphasizes the effectiveness of organoid models in cancer study, their method of preparation, advantages and applications, drawbacks with solutions to address, followed by a brief outline on 4D organoids (assembloids), and future perspectives.