Table 2.
Clinical application of patient-derived cancer organoids from pubmed database
| Cancer Type | Patient Sample Size |
PDCOs culture time |
PDCOs success rate |
Application | Drugs used | Year | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liver cancer | 8 | / | 26% |
Biobank Drug testing |
Sorafenib | 2018 | [141] |
| Liver cancer | 66 | 2–3 weeks | 40.9% |
Drug screening Coherence assessment Personalized treatment |
Sorafenib, Regorafenib, Donafenib, Lenvatinib, Cabozantinib, Oxaliplatin, FOLFOX, XELOX … | 2024 | [142] |
| Liver cancer | 144 | / | 75.6% |
Resistance prediction Biomarker development |
Sorafenib, Lenvatinib, Regorafenib, Apatinib, Bevacizumab … | 2024 | [75] |
| Liver cancer | 77 | ≥ 8 weeks | 91.3% |
Mutation identification Drug screening Clinical relevance |
Sorafenib, Lenvatinib, Regorafenib … | 2025 | [143] |
| Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma | 6 | > 1 year | 50% |
Mutation identification Drug screening Biomarker development |
EGFR inhibitors, Kinase inhibitors, mTOR inhibitors, Proteasome inhibitors … | 2019 | [144] |
| Cholangiocarcinoma | 8 | 1–3 weeks | 57% |
Target testing Drug testing |
Gemcitabine, Gemcitabine + Cisplatin, Cisplatin, Cabozantinib, JAK inhibitor … | 2025 | [145] |
| Hepatobiliary cancer | / | / | > 60% |
Gene-drug associations Drug screening |
KEAP1-beta-Lapachone, NF1-afatinib … | 2024 | [146] |
| Esophageal cancer | 32 | > 6 months | 31% |
Clonal dynamics Drug testing |
ERK inhibitor/EGFR inhibitor … | 2018 | [53] |
| Esophageal cancer | 28 | 1 year | 57.2% |
Coherence assessment Drug testing |
Cisplatin, Paclitaxel, 5-FU … | 2020 | [147] |
| Esophageal cancer | 9 | / | 78% | Drug testing | Cisplatin, Paclitaxel, γ-irradiation, FOLFOX | 2021 | [148] |
| Esophageal cancer | 55 | / | 61.8% |
Drug testing Coherence assessment |
Cisplatin, Paclitaxel + Cisplatin, Vinorelbine + Cisplatin, 5-FU + Cisplatin | 2024 | [149] |
| Gastric Cancer | 34 | / | > 50% |
Heterogeneity Exploration Drug screening |
5-FU, Cisplatin, Oxaliplatin, Napabucasin, Abemaciclib … | 2018 | [32] |
| Gastric Cancer | 3 | 5–8 days | 100% | Drug Validation | Paclitaxel | 2020 | [150] |
| Gastric Cancer | 10 | / | 80% | Drug testing | Albu-PTX, Lipo-PTX | 2022 | [151] |
| Gastric Cancer | 24 | / | 54% |
Resistance prediction Drug testing |
FLOT, FOLFOX | 2023 | [152] |
| Gastric Cancer | 11 | / | 100% | Drug Validation | Luteolin | 2023 | [153] |
| Gastric Cancer | 50 | / | 56% |
Drug testing Combination therapy Target testing |
5-FU, Oxaliplatin, Docetaxel, 5-FU + Veliparib |
2024 | [154] |
| Gastric Cancer | 18 | 2 weeks | > 60% |
Drug testing Drug screening |
5-FU, Paclitaxel, Oxaliplatin, Irinotecan, Epirubicin, Afatinib … | 2024 | [155] |
| Gastric Cancer | 73 | / | 78% |
Drug screening/TME Coherence assessment |
5-FU, Oxaliplatin, Cisplatin, Paclitaxel, Doxorubicin, SN-38 |
2024 | [33] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 20 | / | ~ 90% |
Biobank Drug screening |
Cetuximab, Oxaliplatin, 5-FU … | 2015 | [156] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 61 | / | 63% |
Drug testing Coherence assessment |
Irinotecan, 5-FU + Irinotecan, 5-FU + Oxaliplatin |
2019 | [157] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 28 | / | 68% | Drug testing | FOLFOX, FOLFIRI | 2020 | [158] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 22 | / | 76% |
Drug testing Resistance prediction |
Ipatasertib, Linsitinib, Targeting EGFR drugs… |
2020 | [159] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 54 | / | 75% |
Drug testing Drug repurposing screening |
5- FU, oxaliplatin, Cetuximab, SN38 | 2022 | [160] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 50 | / | 82% |
Drug testing Biomarker development Resistance prediction |
5-FU | 2022 | [161] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 36 | / | 80.6% |
Drug testing Coherence assessment |
FOLFOX, FOLFIRI | 2022 | [162] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 52 | / | 80.8% |
Drug screening Coherence assessment |
5-FU, Oxaliplatin, Irinotecan | 2023 | [163] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 34 | / | 59% |
Drug screening Coherence assessment |
SN-38, Palbociclib, Trametinib, Alpelisib … | 2023 | [164] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 31/9 | 3 weeks | 80%/60% †1 | Drug testing | 5-FU, Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin, Cetuximab, Cetuximab + Encorafenib … | 2023 | [165] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 12/5 | / | 83.3%/80% †2 |
Drug testing Coherence assessment Resistance prediction |
5-FU, Oxaliplatin, Leucovorin, SN-38, Regorafenib |
2024 | [166] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 8 | > 3 months | 100% |
Drug repurposing Drug screening |
Romidepsin, Trametinib, Bortezomib, 5-FU, Regorafenib … | 2024 | [167] |
| Colorectal Cancer | 16 | / | 93.7% |
Target testing Drug testing |
FOLFOX, FOLFIRI, Carboplatin, 5-FU … | 2025 | [168] |
| Rectal Cancer | 58 | / | 77% |
Drug testing Rradiation response Target validation |
5-FU, FOLFOX, Cetuximab | 2019 | [169] |
| Rectal Cancer | 112 | / | 85.7% |
Drug testing Coherence assessment |
NCRT | 2020 | [68] |
| Rectal Cancer | 138 | / | 62.3% | Drug testing | 5-FU, Oxaliplatin | 2023 | [70] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 20 | 3–7 weeks | 85% | Drug testing | Gemcitabine, G9a (A366), EZH2 | 2015 | [170] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 138 | / | 75% |
Drug screening Coherence assessment |
Gemcitabine, Nab-Paclitaxel, Irinotecan 5-FU, Oxaliplatin | 2018 | [171] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 15 | / | 81% | Heterogeneity Exploration | / | 2021 | [172] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 8 | / | 42% |
Drug Discovery Drug screening Coherence assessment |
Gemcitabine, Paclitaxel, Kinase inhibitor | 2022 | [173] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 31 | 3 weeks | 87.8% |
CTCs-PDCOs Drug testing |
5-FU, Oxaliplatin, Paclitaxel, Irinotecan | 2022 | [174] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 48 | / | 71% |
Drug testing Coherence assessment |
ERK inhibitor + Chloroquine | 2024 | [175] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 87 | / | 62% | Coherence assessment | Oxaliplatin, Carboplatin, kinase inhibitors, Epigenetic drugs … | 2024 | [176] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 16 | / | 52.2% | Heterogeneity Exploration | / | 2025 | [177] |
| Pancreatic cancer | 67 | / | 34.3% |
Drug screening Coherence assessment |
FOLFIRINOX, Gemcitabine + Paclitaxel, Cisplatin + Olaparib … | 2025 | [178] |
| Gastrointestinal cancers | 71 | / | 70% |
Drug testing Biomarker development |
Paclitaxel, Cetuximab, Regorafenib, TAS-102 |
2018 | [76] |
| Esophago-gastric cancer | 120 | / | 61% |
Drug testing Patient stratification |
5-FU, Oxaliplatin, Docetaxel, 5-FU + Calcium folinate … |
2024 | [179] |
Note: Search strategy: The following keywords were searched in the PubMed database: (patient-derived cancer organoids[Title]) AND (digestive cancer[Title/Abstract]); (patient-derived tumor organoids[Title]) AND (digestive cancer[Title/Abstract]); (patient-derived organoids[Title]) AND (digestive cancer[Title/Abstract]). “Digestive cancer” can be replaced with liver cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, intestinal cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer for comprehensive retrieval. After inclusion and exclusion based on relevance to this article, 46 experiments were included for analysis
FOL: Folinic acid. 5-FU: 5-Fluorouracil. SN38: An active metabolite of Irinotecan. FOLFOX: 5-FU + Oxaliplatin. XELOX: Oxaliplatin + Capecitabine. FLOT: Docetaxel + Oxaliplatin. FOLFIRI: FOL + 5-FU + Irinotecan. FOLFIRINOX: 5-FU + Leucovorin + Irinotecan + Oxaliplatin. mTOR inhibitor: Mechanistic target of rapamycin inhibitor. JAK inhibitor: Janus Kinase inhibitor. ERK inhibitor: Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase inhibitor. Albu-PTX: Albumin-bound Paclitaxel. Lipo-PTX: Paclitaxel Liposome. EGFR inhibitor: Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor. KEAP1: Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1. NF1: Neurofibromin 1. NCRT: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. PDCOs: Patient-derived cancer organoids. CTCs: Circulating tumor cells. †1: The PDCOs success rates were derived from two cohorts. †2: The two PDCO success rates were derived from the primary site (left) and liver metastasis (right), respectively