Hu JW, Pan YZ, Zhang XX, Li JT, Jin Y. Applications and challenges of patient-derived organoids in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers. World J Gastroenterol 2025; 31(20): 106747 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i20.106747]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yun Jin, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China. jinyunzeyy@zju.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. May 28, 2025; 31(20): 106747 Published online May 28, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i20.106747
Applications and challenges of patient-derived organoids in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers
Jia-Wei Hu, Yan-Zhi Pan, Xiao-Xiao Zhang, Jiang-Tao Li, Yun Jin
Jia-Wei Hu, Yan-Zhi Pan, Xiao-Xiao Zhang, Jiang-Tao Li, Yun Jin, Department of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-first authors: Jia-Wei Hu and Yan-Zhi Pan.
Co-corresponding authors: Yun Jin and Jiang-Tao Li.
Author contributions: Hu JW and Pan YZ contributed equally to this work, wrote the paper; Hu JW and Jin Y reviewed and edited the manuscript; Zhang XX created figures; Li JT and Jin Y conceived and designed the study; all authors read and approved the manuscript.
Supported by Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province, No. 2024C03172; and Clinical Medical Research Special Fund Project of Zhejiang Medical Association, No. 2024ZYC-Z50.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare that we have no conflict of interest to this work.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yun Jin, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China. jinyunzeyy@zju.edu.cn
Received: March 6, 2025 Revised: April 12, 2025 Accepted: May 12, 2025 Published online: May 28, 2025 Processing time: 83 Days and 3.2 Hours
Abstract
Hepatobiliary and pancreatic (HBP) cancers are among the most aggressive malignancies, with recurrence and metastasis driven by tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance, presenting considerable challenges to effective treatment. Currently, personalized and accurate treatment prediction models for these cancers are lacking. Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) tumor are three-dimensional in vitro models created from the tumor tissues of individual patients. Recent reports and our cultivation data indicate that the success rate of cultivating organoids for HBP cancers consistently exceeds 70%. The predictive accuracy of these tumor organoids has been shown to surpass 90%. However, PDOs still face notable limitations, especially in simulating the tumor microenvironment, including tumor angiogenesis and the surrounding cellular context, which require further refinement. While co-culture techniques and microfluidic platforms have been developed to mimic multi-cellular environments and functional vascular perfusion, they remain insufficient in accurately recapitulating the complexities of the in vivo environment. Additionally, PDOs are needed to fully assess their potential in predicting the efficacy of multi-drug combination therapies. This review provides an overview of the applications, challenges, and prospects for organoid models in the study of HBP cancer.
Core Tip: Hepatobiliary and pancreatic (HBP) cancers are highly aggressive, with recurrence and metastasis driven by tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance, posing significant treatment challenges. Current personalized and accurate prediction models are lacking. Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) tumor, three-dimensional in vitro models from patient tumor tissues, show over 70% cultivation success and over 90% predictive accuracy. However, PDOs face limitations in simulating the tumor microenvironment despite advances in co-culture and microfluidic techniques. Additionally, PDOs' potential in predicting multi-drug therapy efficacy requires further assessment. This review outlines the applications and challenges of organoid models in HBP cancer research.
