Oncogenic transformation of diverse gastrointestinal tissues in primary organoid culture

Modeling and documenting malignant progression in vitro without the need for in vivo transplantation represents a clear step forward for cancer investigation. Using an air-liquid interface methodology, Xingnan Li and colleagues show they can robustly model a range of gastrointestinal malignancies from pancreas, stomach and colon in primary epithelial/mesenchymal organoid culture. This setup is able to generate detailed histologic endpoints for oncogenic transformation in vitro and demonstrate in vivo tumorigenicity when the organoids are transplanted.