Lab-Grown Brain Tumors Offer Hope for Personalized Treatment

Updated June 22, ‍2025

Heidelberg, Germany – In a critically important step toward personalized medicine, researchers at the German Cancer Research⁢ Center (DKFZ) and ShanghaiTech University have pioneered a⁢ novel approach‍ to cultivate brain tumors in the laboratory. This innovative ⁢method closely replicates the structure and molecular characteristics of individual patients’ tumors,⁢ offering a promising ⁤avenue for testing and tailoring therapies.

The team’s model, dubbed IPTO (Individualized Patient Tumor Organoid), utilizes cerebral⁣ organoids, or “mini-brains,” derived from human stem cells. Fresh tumor samples are then grown within these organoids, creating a realistic portrayal ⁢of the tumor’s diversity, habitat, and molecular makeup.This allows scientists to study the role of different drugs and therapies on a patient’s specific tumor.

Haikun ⁤Liu, study leader at DKFZ, said the IPTOs maintain the structure and heterogeneity ‍of tumors and predict their response to various treatments. The model can be applied to a ⁤wide range of ⁤central nervous⁢ system tumors, including aggressive glioblastomas and brain metastases.

The researchers cultured IPTOs from 48 tumor entities,⁣ including⁤ pediatric brain tumors, glioblastomas, and brain metastases from breast, lung, or colon cancer. They believe the communication between neurons and cancer cells in the IPTO ⁢model promotes the growth of central nervous system tumors, reflecting advancements in cancer neuroscience. The role ‍of the tumor environment is critical.

In a ⁣study of 35 ‍glioblastoma patients, IPTOs accurately predicted response to temozolomide, a key ⁤drug. The⁤ mini-tumors ⁢also mirrored ⁣therapy results with targeted drugs in brain metastases experiments, ⁣marking a⁢ step toward personalized medicine.Researchers are also exploring the model’s suitability‍ for predicting immunotherapy effectiveness,⁢ given the matching immune cell quantities between IPTOs and ⁤parent tumors. The⁢ role of immunotherapy is being investigated.

“With IPTOs, we can not only maintain the structure and heterogeneity of the tumors, but also predict their response to different therapies,” Liu said.
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What’s next

Liu and his colleagues have founded a DKFZ spin-off ⁣to further ⁤explore IPTOs’ potential for drug testing. The team plans to collect molecular ⁤data from drug ⁢treatments and use it to train artificial intelligence⁢ models, possibly leading‍ to better treatments for brain cancer patients. The method requires further evaluation before it can be used in patient care.