Functional Testing
Achieving stratification clarity using patient-derived model systems
No two cancers are the same —from their genetic makeup to their microenvironment —so the treatment needs to match the uniqueness. Individually tailored therapy relies on understanding both the underlying genetics and functional responses of cancers throughout the course of treatments to stay one step ahead of any emerging resistance.
In combination with genetic profiling, functional characterization is providing the clarity needed for rational selection of active combination regimens – to ultimately deliver the best possible outcome for every individual.
Reshaping cancer treatment through functional drug testing
Researchers at Pear Bio are revolutionizing personalized cancer care by ensuring every patient is matched with the optimal treatment for their unique cancer profile. Leveraging the power of high-content imaging, the team can inform healthcare professionals which treatments are most likely to be effective, while also advising on which approaches are unlikely to work. By focusing on cancers with alarmingly low 5-year survival rates, they aim to bring about a transformative shift in patient outcomes.
Discover more about this approach in our exclusive video.
For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Culturing of 3D model systems
Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) created from patient biopsies can mirror clinical responses to highlight the therapy or combination of therapies that have the greatest efficacy.
It’s critical that PDOs maintain tissue heterogeneity through rounds of propagation because expansion is often required to generate enough material for extensive functional drug tests.
Phenotypic profiling
High-content imaging systems combined with machine learning can tease apart subtle yet crucial phenotypic differences within ex vivo cultures, allowing you to explore the heterogeneity within a patient sample and identify the most potent drug combinations.
Cell health analysis
Determining cell health ex vivo is critical for evaluating therapeutic efficacy. These assays are cost effective and often quick to perform, allowing more drug combinations or time points to be tested.
Monitor cell viability and proliferation with either luminescence assays readout on multilabel plate readers or using image cytometry for a more detailed understanding of sample heterogeneity.
PDX monitoring
In in vivo modeling, PDX models are used to anticipate cancer aggressiveness and to recapitulate tumor-stroma architecture.
Engrafted to the host, the model system maintains primary tumor features over numerous passages, avoiding the bias of culture-driven genetic drift.