Next Generation Biobanking of Patient-derived Organoid Models

Princess Margaret Living Biobank (PMLB) is a repository for patient-derived organoid models. PMLB has generated over200 organoid models from lung, pancreas, colon, ovary, esophageal and breast tumor tissues obtained from patients at University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. All deposited models have passed quality checks including Short Tandem Repeat (STR) genotyping, mycoplasma testing, growth analysis, and histological identification of organoids using a panel of tissue specific biomarkers. Our long-term organoid establishment rate varied between 10-80% depending on the tumor type. PMLB organoids closely recapitulated the histology, the mutation and copy number landscape of their parental tumors and were tumorigenic in mice. The majority of organoid drug responses were similar to that of the matched patient/PDX. Major challenges in next generation biobanking of patient-derived organoid models include normal organoid outgrowth, mouse-derived organoid contamination and the state of tissue used for organoid generation. The PMLB aims to provide researchers at the academic institutions and industrial collaborators with tools to answer many basic oncology research questions with the hope to positively impact cancer treatment.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss processes involved in biobanking of patient-derived organoid models.

2. Explain the advantages and challenges of using patient-derived organoid models for research.