Liver cancer organoids used to screen 1,600 potential treatments

Source: Sandro Nuciforo, University of Basel

Liver cancer organoids under the microscope, with cell nuclei shown in blue and dividing cells shown in red.

Researchers at the University of Basel have used a collection of laboratory-grown mini-tumours to identify potential new treatments for liver cancer , a disease in which tumours can vary considerably from one patient to another.

The team created 35 organoid lines from hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer. The three-dimensional structures are made from living cancer cells and retain important characteristics of the original tumours, allowing researchers to investigate how different cancers respond to drugs.

The findings could help identify treatments that remain effective despite biological differences between liver tumours. One drug combination also showed promising results in an animal model.