The Jänne Lab has unique access to clinical specimens collected from patients’ biopsies. These samples are processed for:
- Cell-line establishment
- Organoid establishment
- Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for in vivo studies done in collaboration with the Belfer Institute.
Patient-derived cell lines, while sometimes exhibiting a degree of genetic/epigenetic drift, continue to be a cheap and accessible resource for studying the biology of NSCLC and screening for new drug regimens. PDX models and organoids have the intrinsic advantage to retain the biological and clinical features of patients’ tumors with higher fidelity than cell lines, which are often the product of clonal selection for genotype/phenotype most fit to adapt to in vitro 2D conditions. The preserved tumor cell heterogeneity of organoids and PDX models allows us to study real clinical presentations and therapeutic outcomes and guide our search for next-line therapies, as well as the development of entirely new drugs. Moreover, these models enable us to study genotypes, which may not thrive in a 2D culture.
Clinic to bench: Translating patient’s disease to treatment
