Top 3 Considerations for Using Ex Vivo Hematologic Models

Advances in precision medicine have transformed treatments for many types of solid tumors, but similar treatment options have been more limited for hematologic oncology. Now, new ex vivo hematologic oncology models are being developed that use patient-derived lymphoma or leukemia cells for screening experimental drugs or biologics.

The lower cost associated with ex vivo drug screening studies compared to in vivo ones makes these platforms ideal for large scale screening of therapeutic agents before progressing to in vivo studies with the most promising drug candidates. In addition, ex vivo hematologic oncology models closely recapitulate the tumor of origin and can provide valuable information about the variability of drug response in a cohort of patients.

In expert hands, these platforms are well-suited to preclinical drug screening and can inform preclinical research decisions as well as clinical care. Some unique aspects of ex vivo hematologic oncology models need to be considered as you advance your research.

1. Viability, Survival, and Proliferation: Patient-derived ex vivo hematologic oncology models may adapt to culture conditions very differently; some cells may die off significantly whereas others proliferate at high rates. It is critical to measure and understand the proliferation and viability parameters of your ex vivo hematologic oncology models to assure you are working with a reliable specimen.
   
   
2. Consider Specific Cell Characteristics: Prolonged culturing of ex vivo hematologic oncology models may introduce unwanted changes to cells that can alter their responses to drugs or antibodies. Be sure to thoroughly characterize the phenotype of specific ex vivo hematologic oncology models before and during ex vivo culture to assure that prolonged culture does not significantly alter the cell phenotype or cause unintended mutations. Short term cultures reduce the risk of such changes happening.
   
   
3. The Power of the Panel: A major advantage of using ex vivo hematologic oncology models is the ability to scale up cultures and screen large panels of experimental antibodies or drugs. This can also be done with multiple patient-derived ex vivo hematologic oncology models being screened in parallel.

Ex vivo hematologic oncology models have advanced significantly as ex vivo drug screening platforms have emerged. With our expertise and our large bank of ex vivo hematologic oncology models, at Champions Oncology, we are well poised to help you advance your preclinical therapeutic screening. Leveraging the multi-omics and multimodal characterization of our ex vivo hematologic oncology models will help you narrow down your drug candidates and speed up the trajectory to clinical investigation.