Around 20% of patients with primary high-grade ovarian cancer do not respond to chemotherapy, but predictive biomarkers are lacking. The purpose of the current study is to establish and clinically validate an ex vivo 3D micro-tumour testing platform that predicts patient-specific response to standard of care chemotherapy. 104 ovarian cancer patients with malignant ascites were included in the study. Micro-tumours enriched from ascites were exposed to standard of care chemo- and targeted therapies, imaged using a high-content 3D screening platform. Morphological features were extracted for sensitivity profiling. A linear regression model was trained to predict the patient’s CA125 decay rates, which were correlated to clinical outcomes (patient CA125 decay rate, change in tumour size, and progression-free survival). Isolated micro-tumours recapitulated ovarian cancer markers. A significant correlation (R = 0.77) between predicted and clinical CA125 rates was observed. Patients with predicted high ex vivo sensitivity to carboplatin/paclitaxel demonstrated significantly increased PFS and decreased tumour size. Complementary, patient-specific response profiles for second-line therapies were calculated and presented in integrated reports. In conclusion, an ex vivo 3D micro-tumour testing platform was established that predicted clinical response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients and measured patient-specific responses to second-line therapies as a proof-of-concept. The platform enabled stratification of responders vs non-responders and has the potential to support informed treatment decisions after prospective validation. Results are generated within 2 weeks after sample collection, aligning with the clinical time frame for treatment decision-making.
Ex vivo 3D micro-tumour testing platform for predicting clinical response to platinum-based therapy in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer
E. Koedoot,Dieudonné J. van der Meer,A. V. van Altena,Lieke J. Ceton,Timothy J. Sijsenaar,M. G. Montero,F. Grillet,Jurgen M J Piek,Ruud L. M. Bekkers,Maurice van Der Vorst,A. Huijben,A. Baalbergen,Kevin G. J. A. Voogdt,Loes Verhoeven,H. P. Smedts,K. Weber,H. M. Hazelbag,T. Bosse,Els L. van Persijn-van Meerten,C. D. de Kroon,Leo S. Price,W. Vader,J. Kroep,N. Ottevanger
Published 2025 in npj Precision Oncology
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- Publication year
2025
- Venue
npj Precision Oncology
- Publication date
2025-08-30
- Fields of study
Medicine
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Semantic Scholar, PubMed
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