Media release

From: Springer Nature

Medicine: Laboratory-grown ‘mini-colons’ for cancer research (N&V)

A faithful organoid model of colorectal cancer initiation is reported in a study published in Nature. These cell cultures could aid research into the complex processes associated with tumour growth and may facilitate the discovery of therapeutic approaches.

Laboratory-grown cultures of simplified organ cells (known collectively as organoids) have been used to investigate cancer cell behaviours. However, pre-existing organoids have been limited by an inability to model more complex processes that involve multiple cell types and levels of tissue organization. This intricate research must be done in animal models, which are harder to observe in real time at high resolution, as well as being ethically and economically costly.

Matthias Lutolf and colleagues have developed organoid models of colorectal cancer that are able to undergo tumour generation in a laboratory setting. The organoids can be triggered by blue light to develop cancerous tumours at pre-determined sites, which can then be tracked in high resolution for several weeks. The cancer cells were shown to develop tumours with the same efficiency and pathology as cells derived from mice, indicating that they are a representative model of colorectal tumour development in animals. The authors posit that these models will aid in the development and discovery of genetic targets and tumour-suppressive drugs, providing a more well-rounded picture of cancer progression than is currently possible in cell cultures.

This new technology provides a flexible and high-resolution system for colorectal cancer research, able to mimic complex processes previously only seen in animal models. Adaptations to this technology could allow its use in studying further cancer types and bring a valuable experimental resource to the field.