CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Breast Cancer
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1630761
Patient-Derived Organoid-Guided Precision Therapy in a Very Young Age Woman with Multidrug-Resistant Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Case Report
Provisionally accepted
- Hangzhou Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, China
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We reported a case of a 31-year-old female with therapy-resistant, refractory, and metastatic luminal B breast cancer. Using organoids derived from the patient's malignant pleural effusion for drug screening, we found that the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin was the most sensitive, considering both IC50 and AUC values. In clinical practice, it was observed that the patient responded well to the selected treatment regimen, resulting in a significant reduction of pleural effusions, a marked decrease in tumor markers (e.g., CA125), and improved performance status (PS 2→1). The organoid model enabled the rational use of the patient's metabolic waste. It replicates the complexity of human tumors and facilitates extensive screening of beneficial drugs for patient diseases, particularly those with advanced tumors showing heterogeneity and rapid disease progression. This method swiftly identifies the optimal therapeutic drug regimen, minimizing the risk of drug resistance and trial costs, thereby providing maximum patient benefits.
Keywords: breast cancer in young women, Patient-derived organoid (PDO), malignant pleural effusion, Drug sensitivity testing, individualized therapy
Received: 18 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Chen, Xu and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mingjiao Sun, smjaa@163.com
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