Here, we established a method for drug efficacy testing with surgical specimens of brain tumors, termed “tumor explant method”. With this method, we can evaluate drug efficacy without breaking the microenvironment of solid tumors. To validate reliability of this method, we describe representative data with our glioma specimen treated with the current first-line chemotherapeutic agent, temozolomide.
Total time
~3-5 days (tissue processing, culture, drug treatment, and immunohistochemistry)
Model organism
Human surgical specimens (glioblastoma)
Steps
1
Process and prepare surgical tumor tissue
Receive fresh surgical specimens and prepare them for ex vivo culture while maintaining the intact tumor microenvironment. This step preserves critical three-dimensional tissue architecture.
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2
Perform immunohistochemistry on tumor explants
Apply immunohistochemical staining to detect cellular markers and validate tissue viability and microenvironment integrity in treated and untreated tumor samples.
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3
Analyze glioblastoma tissue response images
Examine representative immunostained glioblastoma images to visualize treatment effects of temozolomide on tumor architecture and cellular composition.
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