Background: Organoid cultures have received much attention in recent years due to the promise of patient-derived organoid cultures for exploration of personalized cancer treatment strategies. Organoid cultures have been established from a variety of malignancies; however, lack of a thorough histopathological analysis has limited the acceptance of organoid models as translational tools. Methods: Here, we aimed to establish patient-derived tumor-organoid (PDTO) models from human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) resection specimens and provide a thorough histopathological evaluation of the cultures. Results: We show that we were able to establish organoid cultures of lung adenocarcinomas (LUADs) and lung squamous cell carcinomas (LUSCs) successfully, and that the organoid cultures of different subtypes of NSCLC preserved the histoarchitecture and growth pattern of the tumors they derive from. Immunohistochemistry and AB-PAS staining confirmed the subtype-specific protein expression pattern and preserved mucin production in LUAD organoids. The genetic abnormalities of the tumors assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) were preserved in the organoid cultures. Conclusions: Our thorough study reveals conserved PDTO histopathology, supports further exploration, and encourages using PDTO models in translational research projects. PDTO models hold remarkable promise as patient-specific models and may be applied to predict therapy response in cases where molecular-pathological analyses pose significant management dilemmas, and they also may provide a platform for exploring the molecular mechanisms of therapy resistance in a biologically relevant model system.
Keywords: histopathology; non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); organoids; patient-derived tumor-organoids (PDTOs); precision oncology; translational cancer research model development.