Using tumor avatars to personalize cancer treatment

How do you test different drugs without using the patient’s body or resorting to testing on animals? A team from the University of Geneva has found the solution that allows for customized therapies against various forms of cancer and other diseases.

The research team, which included GSEM Professor Stéphane Guerrier, Ph.D. candidate Lionel Voirol, and Gaetan Bakalli (2021 GSEM Ph.D. Graduate), worked on ways of optimizing and testing chemotherapy combinations for each patient.

The novel method uses organoids, which are artificially grown masses of cells or tissue originating from patients, which reproduce the structure and functions of certain tissues and organs. These tumor avatars were exposed to treatments and depending on the response of each organoid, the treatment composition and dosage were adapted. The results were then modelled to predict the most effective treatment for each patient.

This innovative approach offers personalized treatment for several forms of cancer, as well as cardiovascular or viral diseases.

> Read the article published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research: Platform combining statistical modeling and patient-derived organoids to facilitate personalized treatment of colorectal carcinoma
> View the press release issued by the University of Geneva.