A new ChristianaCare program could change the way cancer is treated in Delaware.
The Cawley Center for Translational Cancer Research, a lab within the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute in Newark, has just launched its organoid core facility. It will focus on tumor organoids, which are tiny cultures that are grown from a patient’s own tumor tissue.
“These mini-tumors enable researchers to screen drugs faster, identify new biomarkers and discover which treatments are most likely to work for each patient.”
Thomas Schwaab, Graham Cancer Center
These patient-derived tumor models help doctors and researchers identify more personalized therapies for patients, according to the program announcement.
“These mini-tumors enable researchers to screen drugs faster, identify new biomarkers and discover which treatments are most likely to work for each patient,” said Thomas Schwaab, medical director at the Graham Cancer Center. “By growing living tumor models from cells of individual patients, we can test real-world drug responses and tailor treatments for them in ways that were not possible before.”
Organoid core facilities, also known as “tumor-on-a-chip” programs, are few and far between in the US, and, according to ChristianaCare, its program is the first within a community cancer center setting.
Eventually, the organoid-based treatment developed in Delaware could become a model nationwide, underscoring the state’s reputation as a part of Greater Philadelphia’s precision medicine hub.
ChristianaCare has established itself as a leader in CRISPR gene editing technology with its Gene Editing Institute, described as “the only institute of its kind embedded in a community health system.”
Over the next few months, the organoid core will focus on growing a sample bank of tumors common in Delaware. It will also team up with more academic partners, open the resource to outside researchers, and push forward work on new models that show how a patient’s immune cells interact with their tumor.
