Ex Vivo Drug Assay as a Potential Hospital-Based Testing Platform for Clinical Research and Personalized Treatment for Solid Tumors

Cancer, one of the most common and deadly diseases worldwide, is responsible for taking millions of lives every year. The world is presently shifting from a “one-size-fits-all” to a more “tailored approach” with the help of advancements in the field of cancer biology. Creating appropriate models for studying drug sensitivity and resistance is one of the critical motivations for this strategy. Different cancer models form the foundation for the assessment and development of new or repurposed drugs. Animal models and monolayer cell lines are two types of preclinical models widely used in cancer research. The protocols and guidelines are standardized for these models, but their approach has many limitations. One of the crucial aspects is to mimic human tumor conditions. These models fail to accurately capture the heterogeneity and tumor microenvironment required to explore the mechanisms behind cancer and drug responses. The development of ex vivo models has proved to minimize the drawbacks of these models to a certain extent as it retains original patient tumor architecture. The use of tumor tissue slices also called organotypic slice cultures, are being used in various cancers for studying biomarker identification, and drug susceptibility studies, paving the way to be the potential preclinical model in this personalized era. The amalgamation of different omics technologies has expanded therapeutic opportunities by better defining the biological alterations and tumor characteristics. The advent of personalized therapy has been focused on reducing the burden and maximizing the effects of patients’ responses to specific anticancer agents.