Onco-PDO™ is the result of a first-of-its-kind partnership between Invitrocue & A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore, a world-leading research institution in the field of personalised oncology. Instead of testing directly on you, Onco-PDO™ test uses your own cancer cells to identify the most effective treatment options by growing them in the form of tumour organoids in the laboratory, and testing them against a panel of approved chemotherapy drugs. From there, we can determine which drugs are most likely to be e effective against your particular cancer.
The results from the comprehensive drug options will be scored and compiled into a report for you and your treatment team, providing guidance on what drugs will work best. This information can then be used by your physician to develop a more informed and individually tailored treatment strategy specially designed for you.
This will allow for unique and tailored treatment of your cancer, saving precious time, money and most importantly, your health.
How does it work?
A portion of tissue is removed from the tumour during surgery or routine biopsy.
Your cancer cells are grown in the laboratory and treated with various cancer drugs.
The response of your cancer cells to the drugs is measured.
A report is sent to your oncologist detailing these results.
Your oncologist decides the best course of treatment for you based on these results.
Onco-PDO™
can help you get the unique treatment you deserve,
and this could make all the difference.
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Talk to your oncologist to find out if your cancer is suitable for Onco-PDO™ Test
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Patient - Frequently Asked Questions
1. WHAT IS THE ONCO-PDO™ TEST? Onco-PDO™ test offers a strategic approach in targeting and personalizing your cancer treatment. A sample of your tumor is taken during surgery or routine biopsies and grown in the laboratory. The cells from this tissue sample are grown in a 3-dimensional environment like human body, which form complex structures called PDOs (Patient-Derived Organoids) These PDOs are then tested against standard-of-care chemotherapeutic drugs (as recommended by your physician) to determine the response of Onco-PDOs under laboratory conditions. The studied response is then drafted as a Onco-PDO™ report and provided to your physician#. #Response data in the in vitro Onco-PDO™ test may not always be reflective of patient-specific response due to additional physiological factors.
2. HOW WILL THIS TEST HELP ME? The test will provide an overview of how the cells extracted from your own tumour respond to a panel of standard chemotherapeutic drugs under laboratory conditions. This additional information from Onco-PDO™ report can provide an insight to your physician in understanding your tumour's response to the drugs under laboratory conditions.
3. IS THIS TEST APPROPIATE FOR ME? To date, this test has been done for breast, ovarian, lung, colorectal, pancreatic, gastric cancer as well as head & neck cancers (Asia only); we are in the process of optimizing the test for other cancer types, such as prostate. The test is intended for patients who will be undergoing chemotherapy and is especially useful for relapsed patients who have not shown response to first line therapy.
4. HOW RELIABLE IS THIS TEST? This test has been developed in collaboration with A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore, a world-leading research institution in functional genomics and integrative biology. The technology supporting the test has been published in peer-reviewed journals like Nature Communications and Nature Medicine.
5. WHEN CAN I EXPECT MY TEST RESULTS? Once your samples are received for testing, results are typically available in 2-3 weeks to your physician*. * There is no guarantee that a tumour model can be successfully developed from the sample taken to complete the testing, due to potential sample contamination, low cell number / viability or other limitations with the sample collected.
6. IF I WANT TO GET THIS TEST, WHO SHOULD I SPEAK TO? It is best to talk to your doctor^. ^The Onco-PDO™ Testing Service is not a substitute for visits to a physician. The information in these reports should not be used independently to determine or adjust any treatment plan. Many factors besides the information covered in these reports can influence how a patient responds to a drug.
7. WHERE IS THE TEST PERFORMED? Tests for patients in Europe are performed in our laboratory in Munich, Germany with the highest standards of laboratory practice. Tests for patients in Asia are performed in our laboratory in Singapore.
8. DISCLAIMER: There is a chance that testing cannot be completed due to potential sample contamination, low cell count/viability, or other limitations of the sample collected. Response data in the Onco-PDO™ test may not always be reflective of patient specific response due to additional physiological factors. Results from these reports should be used in consultation with your physician and treatment team. The Onco-PDO™ report alone should not determine or guide the treatment plan.
Physician - Frequently Asked Questions
1. BACKGROUND Patients are typically treated with drugs demonstrated to be effective from studies of the general population. Should the first treatment not work, oncologist would move on to the next best option. This trial-and-error approach means that while a patient’s particular cancer may be unique, their therapy is likely standardized. However, Invitrocue’s advances in three-dimensional organoid technology have led to the development of the Onco-PDO™ (Patient-Derived Organoids) test that allows physicians to individualize treatment more effectively.
2. WHAT IS INVITROCUE'S ONCO-PDO™ TEST? Onco-PDO™ test offers a strategic approach in targeting and personalizing the cancer treatment by creating a clinically relevant predictive in vitro model that quantifies PDOs response to standard chemotherapeutics. A sample of the tumour is taken during surgery or routine biopsies and grown in the laboratory. The cells from this tissue sample are grown in a 3-dimensional environment like human body, which form complex structures called, PDOs. These Onco-PDOs are then tested against standard-of-care chemotherapeutic drugs (as recommended by the physician) to study their response under laboratory conditions. The studied response is then drafted as a Onco-PDO™ report and provided to the physician.
3. HOW IS INVITROCUE'S ONCO-PDO™ TEST PERFORMED? A portion of a patient’s solid tumour (2-3 core biopsies) is mechanically/enzymatically disaggregated and established in primary culture within multi-well plates as organoids. • These organoids are treated with chemotherapeutic agents (at Cmax). Cmax is the maximum serum concentration that a drug achieves in the body after the drug has been administrated, based on published literature. • Following 72-96h of the drug treatment, we perform biochemical assays to determine the viable cells in comparison to a control (without treatment). • The report illustrates the response of PDOs to the drugs under laboratory conditions and might assist the oncologist to make a more informed decision for each individual patient.
4. WHAT ARE THE CLINICAL ADVANDTAGES OF INVITROCUE'S ONCO-PDO™ TEST? This test provides three key clinical advantages: • Fast turnaround: The test report is delivered within 3 weeks to ensure continuity of clinical care without delaying treatment. • Comprehensive: The test can include all standard-of-care chemotherapeutics to ensure the most comprehensive look at the patient’s potential treatment options. • Actionable: The Onco-PDO™ report might help oncologist to make informed treatment decisions by identifying relevant and actionable findings based upon the response of the patient’s cancer cells to chemotherapeutics in the laboratory.
5. HOW DOES ONCO-PDO™ DIFFER FROM GENOMIC TESTING SUCH AS NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING? Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) analyses cancer specimens for genomic alterations known to be relevant in cancer. The test results can only be used to suggest targeted therapies that are available or associated with the identified genomic alterations, based on published studies of the general population. By comparison, Onco-PDO™ test is a clinically relevant, real-time modelling and in vitro testing service that illustrates how individual patient’s own tumour cells respond to standard-of-care chemotherapies and targeted therapeutic agents.
6. WHICH PATIENTS ARE MOST APPROPIATE FOR ONCO-PDO™ TESTING? The test is for patients who need chemotherapy, and most useful for patients with advanced cancer or relapsed patients who have not responded well to first line therapy. First line therapies are usually subjected to strict regulatory guidelines, and oncologists do not have much leeway to choose drugs other than standard-of-care drugs for their patients. For relapsed patients, oncologists have wider choice of drugs, and time is of essence for the patients as the body cannot afford to undergo any unnecessary round of chemotherapy, making every data point that could aid clinical decision-making even more valuable. Our hope is that one day the Onco-PDO™ test will become a standard-of-care test that can screen drugs for first line therapy as well. To date, this test has been done for breast, ovarian, lung, colorectal, pancreatic, gastric cancers as well as head & neck cancers (Asia only); we are in the process of optimizing the test for other cancer types, such as prostate.
7. WHAT WILL THE ONCO-PDO™ REPORT INDICATE? The test report will provide the following information: • An overview of how the patient’s cancer cells have responded to the panel of standard-of-care chemotherapeutics in the laboratory. Each individual report is specially designed to clarify the results for the ordering physician and aid in their treatment decision making.
8. WHEN CAN I EXPECT MY PATIENT'S TEST RESULTS? Once your patient’s sample is received for testing, results should be available in 2-3 weeks.
9. WHAT TUMOR SAMPLE TYPES CAN BE UTILIZED FOR ONCO-PDO™ TESTING? We require fresh tumour tissue from surgery or biopsy, which are needed to be transported in chilled transport media to the laboratory within 24 hours. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour tissue cannot be used.
10. WHAT SAMPLE SIZE IS REQUIRED FOR ONCO-PDO™ TESTING? Either a minimum of 1 cm³ of tumour tissue or 2-3 core needle biopsies are required. Anything less may risk the test failing to achieve completion.
11. WHERE IS THE TESTING PERFORMED? Tests for patients in Europe are performed in our laboratory in Munich, Germany with the highest standards of laboratory practice. Tests for patients in Asia are performed in our laboratory in Singapore.
12. DISCLAIMER: There is a chance that testing cannot be completed due to potential sample contamination, low cell count/viability, or other limitations of the sample collected. Response data in the Onco-PDO™ test may not always be reflective of patient specific response due to additional physiological factors. Results from these reports should be used in consultation with your physician and treatment team. The Onco-PDO™ report alone should not determine or guide the treatment plan.
