Bladder cancer in dogs is extremely malignant, and most of them die early, so the challenge was to establish new treatments and search for diagnostic markers.In addition, canine bladder cancer is similar to the pathophysiology of human invasive bladder cancer and can be an experimental model for spontaneously invasive bladder cancer, but the available cell lines are scarce and underutilized.

　Recently, a three-dimensional culture (organoid culture) method using cancer tissue is expected as a useful tool for personalized medicine. "Cancer organoids" are said to have a high degree of reproducibility of tissues and their characteristics in the living body.On the other hand, most canine bladder cancers show terminal symptoms at the time of diagnosis, and it is difficult to collect tissues by surgery or biopsy (biopsy), so that the existing organoid culture method cannot be implemented.

　The research team focused on trace amounts of cancer stem cells in the urine of dogs with bladder cancer.As a result of attempting to produce cancer organoids derived from urine samples using the three-dimensional culture method, 17 out of 12 samples were successfully produced.The prepared cancer organoid was observed to have an epithelial structure similar to that of canine urothelial cancer.Cancer organoids produced in vivo (immuno-deficient mice) also have tumorigenicity, and the susceptibility of anti-cancer drugs to single or combined treatment differs among individuals, and human invasive bladder cancer. It turned out to be the same type.

　The results of this research are expected to lead to the selection of optimal therapeutic agents for canine bladder cancer and the development of early diagnostic markers, as well as the development of new therapeutic agents for human invasive bladder cancer and the elucidation of the pathological mechanism. Will be done.

Paper information:[Cancer Science] Establishment of a novel experimental model for muscle-invasive bladder cancerby using dog bladder cancer organoid culture