Pancreatic cancer 3D organoids: modelling interactions between tumour and immune cells
Immune cells can attack cancer cells, and several promising immunotherapies have been developed to support this process. So far, however, these treatments have not been effective against pancreatic cancer. To investigate why, researchers developed a three-dimensional cell culture model known as an organoid: a small, simplified version of an organ grown from cells in the laboratory.
Pancreatic cancer organoids are grown together with immune cells taken from the blood of patients who have undergone surgery. Microscopy and staining allow researchers to monitor interactions between cancer and immune cells in real time. Organoids have been created from tissue from untreated patients and from patients who received chemotherapy or radiotherapy before surgery. The model is also used to study why some cancer cells survive these treatments.
By combining organoids with patients’ immune cells, the team aims to understand why the immune response fails and to identify ways of improving immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer.