Organoid technologies in antitumor drug screening: past development, present applications, and future prospects

Tumors are one of the major diseases affecting human life and health with an increasing incidence worldwide. Drug therapy is the most commonly used treatment for tumors. Therefore, screening for antitumor drugs has always been a focus of tumor research. Tumor organoids are an emerging screening drug model. As a 3D in vitro model, organoids not only retain the characteristics of the parent tumor well, but also reflect the role of the tumor microenvironment, making them an excellent platform for screening antitumor drugs. In recent years, organoid culture technology has developed rapidly and several tumor organoid libraries have been gradually established for research using cryopreservation and transgeneration methods. However, a lack of systematic summaries of organoids and tumor-screening drugs still exists. This review outlines the development of antitumor drug screening methods and summarizes common organoid models used for antitumor drug screening, including patient-derived tumor organoids and patient-derived organoids-based xenograft and subcutaneous transplantation models. In addition, the clinical application status of organoid technology in drug screening for various tumors is summarized, and the advantages and bottlenecks of organoid technology are objectively analyzed. In future, the combination of organoids and tumor-screening drugs will provide significant value in the treatment of tumors.