Background: With the aging of animals, the incidence of cancer has been steadily increasing. Despite the diverse clinical characteristics observed in tumor patients, veterinary oncology often relies on standardized treatment protocols. However, this generalized approach frequently leads to side effects and low therapeutic efficacy.
Objectives: To establish a platform that cultures cancer organoids and performs drug sensitivity testing to propose “personalized” anticancer therapies.
Animals and
Methods: Canine and feline organoids were generated from tumor tissues through surgical excision or fluid samples, such as urine. Tumor origin was confirmed via immunohistochemical staining. Organoids were treated with chemotherapeutic and targeted drugs for 5 days, and cell viability was assessed using microscopy and a luminol-based assay.
Results: Tumor organoids were successfully established from tumor samples from canine and feline. IHC staining confirmed tumor biomarker expression in organoids. Cytotoxicity varied between ineffective and effective drugs within individual organoids upon treatment with chemotherapeutic and targeted anticancer agents. Effective drugs significantly reduced organoid size, number, and luminescence-based cell viability compared to controls. Notably, drug effectiveness varied even among organoids from the same cancer type. Organoid-guided therapy improved survival outcomes (n=25, mean: 99.24 ± 58.47 days, median: 78 days) compared to unguided therapy (n=9, mean: 53.22 ± 22.33 days, median: 51 days; p = 0.016).
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: We developed a novel platform that cultures 3D cancer organoids from canine and feline tumor samples to provide anticancer drug sensitivity results. This platform is expected to make a significant contribution to advancing personalized and precision medicine in veterinary oncology.
