A live tumor fragment platform to assess immunotherapy response in core needle biopsies while addressing challenges of tumor heterogeneity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment, providing durable and even curative responses. However, most patients do not respond and current biomarkers (eg, programmed death ligand (PD-L1), mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR)/high microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden) lack predictive accuracy. Ex vivo profiling of patient-derived tumor fragments shows promise as a predictive biomarker but relies on substantial surgical tissue to mitigate intra-specimen heterogeneity. Innovations are needed that address these challenges, particularly where limited tissue is available in core needle biopsies (CNBs).

Methods

Live tumor fragments (LTFs) were generated from 59 human tumor resections and 31 CNBs from patients enrolled

SUBMITTER: Ramasubramanian TS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12338738 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature