Standardization of organoid culture in cancer research

Abstract

Establishing a valid in vitro model to represent tumor heterogeneity and biology is critical but challenging. Tumor organoids are self-assembled three-dimensional cell clusters which are of great significance for recapitulating the histopathological, genetic, and phenotypic characteristics of primary tissues. The organoid has emerged as an attractive in vitro platform for tumor biology research and high-throughput drug screening in cancer medicine. Organoids offer unique advantages over cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models, but there are no standardized methods to guide the culture of organoids, leading to confusion in organoid studies that may affect accurate judgments of tumor biology. This review summarizes the shortcomings of current organoid culture methods, presents the latest research findings on organoid standardization, and proposes an outlook for organoid modeling.