2. Academic Validation
  3. Drug-repurposing screen on patient-derived organoids identifies therapy-induced vulnerability in KRAS-mutant colon cancer

Drug-repurposing screen on patient-derived organoids identifies therapy-induced vulnerability in KRAS-mutant colon cancer

  • Cell Rep. 2023 Mar 30;42(4):112324. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112324.
Sander Mertens 1,  Maarten A Huismans 1,  Carla S Verissimo 1,  Bas Ponsioen 1,  Rene Overmeer 2,  Natalie Proost 3,  Olaf van Tellingen 4,  Marieke van de Ven 3,  Harry Begthel 5,  Sylvia F Boj 2,  Hans Clevers 5,  Jeanine M L Roodhart 6,  Johannes L Bos 1,  Hugo J G Snippert 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Oncode Institute, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • 2 Hubrecht Organoid Technology (HUB), Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • 3 Mouse Clinic for Cancer and Aging Research (MCCA), Preclinical Intervention Unit, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
  • 4 Mouse Clinic for Cancer and Aging Research (MCCA), Preclinical Intervention Unit, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Division of Clinical Pharmacology, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
  • 5 Oncode Institute, Hubrecht Institute-KNAW, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • 6 Oncode Institute, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • 7 Oncode Institute, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: h.j.g.snippert@umcutrecht.nl.
PMID: 37000626 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112324
Abstract

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) are widely heralded as a drug-screening platform to develop new anti-cancer therapies. Here, we use a drug-repurposing library to screen PDOs of colorectal Cancer (CRC) to identify hidden vulnerabilities within therapy-induced phenotypes. Using a microscopy-based screen that accurately scores drug-induced cell killing, we have tested 414 putative anti-cancer drugs for their ability to switch the EGFRi/MEKi-induced cytostatic phenotype toward cytotoxicity. A majority of validated hits (9/37) are microtubule-targeting agents that are commonly used in clinical oncology, such as taxanes and vinca-alkaloids. One of these drugs, vinorelbine, is consistently effective across a panel of >25 different CRC PDOs, independent of Ras mutational status. Unlike vinorelbine alone, its combination with EGFR/MEK inhibition induces Apoptosis at all stages of the cell cycle and shows tolerability and effective anti-tumor activity in vivo, setting the basis for a clinical trial to treat patients with metastatic RAS-mutant CRC.

Keywords

CP: Cancer; CP: Stem cell research; colorectal cancer; image-based drug screening; microtubule-targeting agents; organoids; targeted therapy.

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