Abstract 38: NSCLC patient-derived organoids to guide personalized therapy
Authors: Kim Seok-Young , Kim Dong Hwi , Joo Hyeong-Seok , Yun Mi Ran , Lee Ji Yeon , Kim Sang Min , Kim Hyunki , Hong Min Hee , Kim Hye Ryun , Cho Byoung Chul 
Published: August 2019

Purpose: Translational research in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been largely hampered by relatively low success rates for establishing patient-derived cell model or patient-derived xenograft model. Recently, NSCLC patient-derived organoid model (PDO) has been introduced, showing a high take rate and stable growth in long-term in vitro cultures. Translational relevance of NSCLC PDOs remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated whether NSCLC PDOs can predict anti-cancer treatment responses and provide therapeutic strategies to overcome drug resistance.

Experimental design: Nineteen malignant effusions and 13 biopsied/surgical specimens were obtained from 31 patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Eleven patients (35%) had no prior therapy, 7 (23%) chemotherapy or radiotherapy, 6 (19%) EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), 4 (13%) ALK/ROS1-TKIs, and 3 (10%) immunotherapy. Samples were processed and cultured as reported previously. In brief, specimens were reviewed by pathologists to confirm malignancy. Then, samples were cultured in Advanced DMEM/F12 containing 10% R-spondin 1 conditioned medium, 25 ng/mL FGF7, 100 ng/mL FGF10, 100 ng/mL noggin, 500 nM A83-01, 500 nM SB202190, 1X B27, 1.25 mM N-acetylcysteine, 5 mM nicotinamide, 1X glutamax, 10 mM HEPES, and 1X primocin. For efficient establishment, we stained organoids with H&E at early passages to confirm histological features of NSCLC. Cell viability assay was performed using CellTiter-Glo 3D. PDOs (&lt;P10) were analyzed by whole-exome sequencing and RNA-seq and cryopreserved to establish a biobank.

Results: A total of 22 PDOs derived from NSCLC patients was established. Take rates from malignant effusions and biopsied/surgical specimens were 89% and 38%. Of these established PDOs, 9 were wild-type, 9 EGFR-mutant, 3 ROS1-rearranged, and 1 ALK-rearranged. Genomic and transcriptomic profile of established PDOs were concordant to those of matching parental tumors. Of note, we established clinically important models progressing to targeted therapy or immunotherapy as follows: osimertinib-resistant EGFR mutant PDOs (n=4), repotrectinib-resistant ROS1-rearranged PDO (n=1), and pembrolizumab-resistant PDO (n=1). For example, YUO-2 was established from progressing pleural effusion after 5 months of osimertinib and had lost EGFR T790M but maintained EGFR exon 19 deletion. YUO-2 was resistant to gefitinib, afatinib, and osimertinib with IC50 values of 27300 nM, 9296 nM, and 5691 nM, respectively, implicating clinical relevance of NSCLC PDO models. TKI-resistant PDOs were screened with combinations of TKI targeting the driver mutation of the established models and each drug from the FDA-approved drug library.

Conclusions: NSCLC PDO models could recapitulate the characteristics of corresponding NSCLC tumors and clinical response. PDO-based co-clinical trial will accelerate translational research in NSCLC. Further results will be presented at 2019 AACR meeting.

Citation Format: Seok-Young Kim, Dong Hwi Kim, Hyeong-Seok Joo, Mi Ran Yun, Ji Yeon Lee, Sang Min Kim, Hyunki Kim, Min Hee Hong, Hye Ryun Kim, Byoung Chul Cho. NSCLC patient-derived organoids to guide personalized therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 38.