A dependency map enhanced with next-generation 3D cancer models. Nature (2026)
Adrian Lee, Ph.D., "Organoid biology and precision oncology - three companion papers just published together in Nature Portfolio, all validating patient-derived 3D cancer models as the next generation of preclinical tools.
Deep thanks to the Broad Institute team, including James N., Francisca Vazquez, and many others for leading "A dependency map enhanced with next-generation 3D cancer models," which Steffi Oesterreich,Ph.D., Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D. and I were proud to contribute to. broad.io/DepMap3D
This is exactly the mission of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Organoid Research Core within our Institute for Precision Medicine, so it's gratifying to see it validated at this scale
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard team ran genome-scale CRISPR screens across 147 organoid and spheroid models spanning 10 cancer types, expanding the Cancer Dependency Map (DepMap) into tumor subtypes traditional cell lines simply don't capture. These models preserve transcriptional programs that get silenced in 2D culture (like the PDAC-classical/MUC program in GI organoids), and oncogene dependency itself can be model-dependent. Model choice shapes the biology we're able to see." https://lnkd.in/p/e2rZaXcm
