Patient-derived cancer organoids to improve head and neck cancer care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using head & neck cancer tissue to develop head & neck cancer organoids for therapy assessment and biomarker development
IRAS ID
318854
Contact name
M. Ibrahim Khot
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Collectively, tumours affecting the upper aerodigestive tract are referred to as 'Head & Neck Cancer' (HNC) and includes tumours arising within the mouth, pharynx, voice bo, nose, nasal sinuses and salivary glands. This project aims to model the development of these tumours, identify biomarkers and test the feasibility of novel interventions that will support early diagnosis and more effective treatment.
HNC accounts for approximately 3% of all new tumours diagnosed in the United Kingdom (UK), with over 11,500 new cases per year. Given the wide range of tumour sites, the prognosis for patients living with HNC depends on the specific sub-site affected, tumour stage at presentation, and tumour grade. Recently the appearance of virally driven cancer of the oropharynx has also become highly relevant. The 5 year survival ranges from 28% (hypopharynx) to 66% (larynx).
The use of human HNC tissue, and others samples such as blood, urine, saliva and bone marrow underpin medical research. Such samples are very important, for example in understanding more about disease processes and progression, generation of new tests to aid diagnosis, prognosis or treatment selection, and, in the development of novel therapies. The context of ‘personalised medicine’ exemplifies this approach. There are obviously major benefits from such research including improvements in treatment outcomes, reduction of treatment related morbidity, increased patient safety and more efficient, cost-effective, evidence-based utilisation of NHS resource.
Precision medicine aims to address this problem by ensuring that patients only receive anti-cancer treatments, if there is a good chance that their cancer will respond. A hurdle in developing precision medicines, is the ability to test them on cancer models in the laboratory that behave similarly to cancers in the human body. Traditionally, laboratory cancer models have used cells, derived from human cancers grown as single monolayers of cells. These lack the complexity of cancers in the body, and as a result, experiments to test new treatments are limited in their ability to predict response in humans. Recent efforts to develop more “life-like” cancer models have included cells grown in various 3-dimensional structures. Whilst these have advanced the usefulness of laboratory cancer models, there is still a gap in being able to predict actual clinical response, which has been attempted to be filled by the use of animal models. A recent exciting advancement in human cancer models, is the ability to grow “mini-tumours” directly from patient tumour samples in the laboratory. These mini-tumours are grown from fragments of actual patient cancers, and are called organoids. Organoids closely replicate the original cancer, making them a valuable resource for testing and developing new therapies. In this study, we aim to develop a library of protocols that could be used to successfully generate organoids from patient tissue. We will study how organoids respond to treatments in comparison to traditional cell models.
REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/PR/0588
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion