LAUSR

An organoid is a miniature three-dimensional (3D), multicellular, “stem-cell derived genetically-encoded self-assembly programmed structure” which exhibits characteristics, e.g., cell-cell interactions, tissue polarity, hypoxia, drug penetration, and nutrition gradients, that recapitulate the in vivo state of the original tissue better than cell lines that are maintained in two-dimensional (2D) adherent cultures. Because precursor stem cells needed to form organoids can be edited to express desired genetic variants or gene mutations or can be derived from complex genetic backgrounds, organoids become powerful tools to model diseases-from Zika virus infection and single gene disorders like cystic fibrosis to complex conditions like cancer. Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) have recently emerged as robust preclinical models for their abilities to recapitulate patient drug responses in the clinic, and they might therefore be integrated into precision medicine programs. PDO cultures have been established for many types of cancer, including colorectal, prostate, breast, pancreas, lung, and liver cancers. As for urothelial cancer, our group succeeded in preparing PDOs from surgically resected human bladder cancer tissue by applying the cancer-tissue originated spheroid (CTOS) method [1]. In this editorial, we introduce our recent findings and those of others using bladder cancer organoids and discuss future applications of them for discovery and precision medicine.