PODO Therapeutics, a South Korea-based biotechnology company focused on precision medicine, has developed an innovative platform that could transform cancer treatment selection by accurately predicting individual patient responses to immunotherapies and radiation treatments. The company will present its breakthrough research at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025, scheduled for April 25-30 in the United States.
The platform leverages patient-derived cancer organoids co-cultured with immune cells to overcome limitations of conventional organoid models, which typically fail to replicate the tumor immune microenvironment—a critical factor in treatment response.
Novel Co-Culture System Shows High Predictive Accuracy for Radiation Response
PODO's first research presentation details a co-culture system where cancer organoids derived from lung, gastric, and rectal cancer patients were grown alongside immune cells. Researchers evaluated responses to various anticancer drugs and radiation treatments by measuring multiple parameters including post-treatment cell viability, caspase activation, and DNA damage responses.
The results demonstrated high concordance with actual clinical outcomes, suggesting that the platform effectively replicates the complex interactions between tumor cells and the immune system that influence treatment efficacy.
"Traditional organoid models have been limited in their ability to predict radiation sensitivity because they lack immune components," explained a PODO researcher involved in the study. "Our co-culture system addresses this gap by incorporating patient-derived immune cells, creating a more physiologically relevant model."
Predicting Immunotherapy Efficacy in Gastric Cancer
The second poster presentation focuses on the platform's ability to predict responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in gastric cancer patients. Researchers created organoids from gastric cancer lesions and co-cultured them with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the same patients.
These co-cultures were then treated with the immune checkpoint inhibitor Nivolumab. Using sophisticated analysis methods including immunofluorescence imaging, cell viability assays, and caspase 3/7 activity measurements, the team found significant correlations between their platform's predictions and actual clinical outcomes.
For HER2-positive gastric tumors, the study also evaluated the combined effect of trastuzumab with immunotherapy, highlighting the platform's potential to guide combination treatment strategies—an increasingly important approach in modern oncology.
Implications for Clinical Practice and Drug Development
The PODO platform represents a significant advance in precision oncology by potentially allowing clinicians to test multiple treatment options before administering them to patients. This approach could spare patients from ineffective treatments and their associated side effects while identifying the most promising therapeutic options.
"Our platform goes beyond laboratory observation—it provides an integrated solution capable of predicting patient prognosis and designing personalized treatment strategies," stated a company spokesperson. "We look forward to further evolving our technology by integrating AI-driven analytics for next-generation precision medicine."
The technology could also accelerate drug development by providing pharmaceutical companies with more predictive preclinical models, potentially reducing the high failure rates currently seen in oncology clinical trials.
Addressing the Challenges of Treatment Selection
Cancer treatment selection remains one of the most challenging aspects of oncology, with response rates to many therapies—including expensive immunotherapies—often below 30%. PODO's platform aims to address this challenge by providing a personalized approach to treatment selection.
The company's technology is expected to reduce time and cost burdens associated with traditional clinical trials while providing a robust foundation for tailored immunotherapy regimens. By more accurately matching patients with effective treatments, the platform could significantly improve outcomes while reducing healthcare costs associated with ineffective therapies.
PODO Therapeutics plans to continue developing its platform by incorporating artificial intelligence to further enhance its predictive capabilities, potentially creating a comprehensive solution for next-generation precision medicine in oncology.
