Establishing Organoids From Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Patients, the OPT-I Study.

Rationale: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a malignancy with a poor prognosis. Resection is the only curative option and still 5-year survival rate is less than 10 percent. However, most patients present with advanced disease and are provided with palliative care. The nature of the tumour and the intense stromal reaction around the tumour cells leave pancreatic adenocarcinoma relatively insensitive to chemotherapeutics. Current models, such as cell lines or patient derived xenografts, cannot provide predictive information in a clinically relevant timeframe. Organoids and organotypic culture systems have emerged as promising new culturing techniques that maintain some of the complexity of the tumour. As most patients are ineligible for tumour resection, this project will focus on metastases and will generate organoids from that tissue. Using a combination of organoids and organotypic systems, treatment (non)response can be predicted, which may provide a personalized treatment setting for patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.