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Updated: Dec 21, 2025
Measuring Real-time Drug Response in Organotypic Tumor Tissue Slices
Published on: May 2, 2020
Multiplexed drug testing of tumor slices using a microfluidic platform
L F Horowitz1,2,3, A D Rodriguez1, Z Dereli-Korkut4
11Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 USA.
Abstract:
Current methods to assess the drug response of individual human cancers are often inaccurate, costly, or slow. Functional approaches that rapidly and directly assess the response of patient cancer tissue to drugs or small molecules offer a promising way to improve drug testing, and have the potential to identify the best therapy for individual patients. We developed a digitally manufactured microfluidic platform for multiplexed drug testing of intact cancer slice cultures, and demonstrate the use of this platform to evaluate drug responses in slice cultures from human glioma xenografts and patient tumor biopsies. This approach retains much of the tissue microenvironment and can provide results rapidly enough, within days of surgery, to guide the choice of effective initial therapies. Our results establish a useful preclinical platform for cancer drug testing and development with the potential to improve cancer personalized medicine.
Insights
This study presents a new microfluidic platform for rapid, accurate cancer drug testing using patient tumor slices. This approach aids in selecting effective cancer therapies, advancing personalized medicine.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Current cancer drug response assessments are often inaccurate, slow, or expensive.
- Functional drug testing methods offer a promising alternative for personalized cancer therapy selection.
- Directly assessing patient tumor response to drugs can improve treatment outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a microfluidic platform for multiplexed drug testing of intact human cancer slice cultures.
- To evaluate the platform's ability to rapidly assess drug responses in glioma xenografts and patient tumor biopsies.
- To establish a preclinical tool for improving cancer drug testing and personalized medicine.
Main Methods:
- Development of a digitally manufactured microfluidic device for culturing intact cancer slices.
- Multiplexed drug screening on slice cultures derived from human glioma xenografts and patient tumor biopsies.
- Evaluation of drug response by assessing tissue viability and drug efficacy within days of tissue acquisition.
Main Results:
- The microfluidic platform successfully enabled multiplexed drug testing on intact cancer slice cultures.
- Drug responses were evaluated in human glioma xenografts and patient tumor biopsies.
- The platform provided rapid results, within days of surgery, demonstrating its potential for guiding therapy selection.
Conclusions:
- The developed microfluidic platform is a viable preclinical tool for cancer drug testing and development.
- This approach preserves the tumor microenvironment, offering more accurate drug response assessments.
- The rapid turnaround time has the potential to significantly improve personalized cancer medicine by guiding initial therapy choices.
