ASSEMBLOIDS: Predictive, Patient-Derived Tumor Platform for Drug Development, Biomarker Discovery, and Personalized Oncology.

Our project focus on the development of patient-derived cancer models that faithfully recapitulate the structure and function of human tumors, enabling studies of tumor biology in a clinically relevant context.

Microenvironmental cells, including stromal and immune components, play a critical role in tumor progression and therapeutic response. Tumors with high stromal infiltration often show reduced sensitivity to chemotherapy and targeted therapies, underscoring the importance of incorporating these cells in patient-derived models. By including the patient specific tumor microenvironment, our platform better predicts treatment responses and recapitulates the complex dynamics of tumor behavior more accurately.

We began with a gastric cancer model that integrates tumor-derived epithelial with distinct subpopulations of stromal and autologous immune cells, preserving the cellular heterogeneity observed in patients allowing us to study the intricate interactions among cancer, immune, and stromal cells before and during treatment.

We confirmed the genetic and cellular fidelity of this platform with the original tumor and demonstrated that therapeutic responses seen in patients can be reproduced ex vivo, providing a predictive tool for personalized treatment strategies. Notably, the secretome differs substantially between traditional organoids and our more complex assembloids, emphasizing the importance of modelling the tumor microenvironment.

Our project is built on protected, proprietary technology, ensuring a unique and reproducible translational platform. Building on the success of the gastric cancer model, we are extending this approach to additional tumor types, generating a diverse biobank that reflects inter-patient and inter-tumor variability.

By transforming predictive patient-derived models into real-world benefits, we aim to accelerate drug development, biomarker discovery, and the implementation of effective therapies beyond precision medicine.