Patient-Derived Microtumors: How Can We Continue to Personalize Treatment for Ovarian Cancer Patients?

Background/Objectives: This pilot study investigates the feasibility of using patient-derived microtumors (PDMs) to assess chemotherapy response in epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: Fresh tissue from 10 patients was used to develop PDMs, which were then tested against carboplatin/paclitaxel, carboplatin/docetaxel, and carboplatin/pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD). Of the 10 PDMs, 3 were obtained from primary debulking surgery (PDS), and 7 were obtained at the time of interval debulking surgery following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Results: When looking at PDMs derived from tissue collected at the time of PDS, we found that 100% of PDMs demonstrated a full response to carboplatin/PLD, while 30% showed a full response to all regimens, all of which were derived from high-grade serous carcinoma during PDS. The remaining PDMs showed moderate responses to carbo/taxol and carbo/doce. Conclusions: This study suggests that PDMs can be used to assess the efficacy of chemotherapy regimens, as a hypothesis-generating step toward future predictive validation.