
{"id":178303,"date":"2025-06-19T11:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/ku-forskere-dyrker-kraeft-uden-for-kroppen-en-tumor-bliver-til-tusind-forsoeg\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T11:09:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:09:03","slug":"cancer-in-a-dish-ucph-scientists-turn-tumours-into-thousands-of-experiments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/cancer-in-a-dish-ucph-scientists-turn-tumours-into-thousands-of-experiments\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancer in a dish: UCPH scientists turn tumours into thousands of experiments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a laboratory at the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), four incubators have unusual contents.<\/p>\n<p>The incubators are kept at a constant 37 degrees Celsius, because they contain tiny human cells that need to stay warm, grow, and develop \u2014 just as if they were still inside a real human body.<\/p>\n<p>And even though the cells are nurtured and cared for with nutrient-rich protein gel, warmth, and careful handling, they are not particularly healthy. Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>How does the tumour develop? What alternative treatments might work for this specific patient?<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Wojciech Senkowski, Assistant Professor, BRIC<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The cells are, in fact, tiny cancer tumours formed from tissue samples taken from real patients with ovarian cancer.<\/p>\n<p>If you look closely at the coloured protein gel, you can see a series of bright spots that make up the cell mass. Place the mass under a microscope, and the cancer tumours themselves come into view:<\/p>\n<p>Grey, misshapen objects embedded throughout the white mass, varying clearly in both shape and size from sample to sample.<\/p>\n<p>These lab-grown cancer tumours are called organoids, and according to the lead researchers \u2014 Professor Krister Wennerberg and Assistant Professor Wojciech Senkowski \u2014 they will offer deeper insights into ovarian cancer and be used for testing for a wide range of alternative treatments in the future.<\/p>\n<h3>Cancer comes back<\/h3>\n<p>The research project began as part of an EU initiative. It has been running for seven years and has since received funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Danish Cancer Society, Independent Research Fund Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark, and the organisation OvaCure.<\/p>\n<p>The core aim of the project is to explore how cancer treatment can be tailored to individual ovarian cancer patients, explains Krister Wennerberg.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWhat is particular to ovarian cancer is that it often reemerges. We often see a patient treated with the standard methods \u2014 chemotherapy and surgery \u2014 and declared cancer-free. But after a few years, the cancer often returns \u2014 and then it\u2019s difficult to treat,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n<p>Another defining characteristic of ovarian cancer is that it typically varies from patient to patient \u2014 which is why the research project focuses on exploring personalised treatment options.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbEvery patient sample we receive is different \u2014 for example in the genomic composition of the cancer. That\u2019s why we try to create our organoids as ultra-personalised models, where we preserve both the unique genetic profile, the structure, and the morphology of the original tumour,\u00ab says Wojciech Senkowski.<\/p>\n<p>It took around two to three years to develop the first organoids, but once they figured it out, progress sped up. Today, there are 35 organoids in the BRIC lab \u2014 and the more organoids, the more answers, according to Wojciech Senkowski.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbNow we can begin to ask questions like: How does the tumour develop? What alternative treatments might work for this specific patient,\u00ab he says, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIn some cases, we\u2019ve even been lucky enough to get a sample from a patient when the cancer was first diagnosed and again if it came back. That\u2019s incredibly valuable for research.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Tumour divided up into minute pieces<\/h3>\n<p>To test alternative treatments, the tiny cancer tumour is divided into nearly 400 even smaller tumours, allowing the research team to test more than 1,000 different treatment options simultaneously.<br \/>\n<!-- end of module 1 --><br \/>\n\u00bbThen we see whether the cancer cells are destroyed or not. What works varies greatly from patient to patient. But recently we identified a potential new treatment that might work for around one quarter of all patients,\u00ab says Krister Wennerberg.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/when-the-cancer-scientists-husband-got-cancer\/\">When the cancer researcher&#8217;s husband got cancer<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The research team discovered that some types of cancer cells were highly dependent on the so-called <span class=\"secrettext\">protein kinase CK2<\/span> to survive. Protein kinase CK2 is an enzyme that can be crucial for cellular processes, including signalling, cell growth, and death.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women, and it is a very complex form of cancer<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Wojciech Senkowski, Assistant Professor, BRIC<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbWe found that if we introduce medication that blocks the function of the protein kinase, the cancer cells have a harder time surviving. That\u2019s why we believe some patients will benefit greatly from this treatment alongside standard chemotherapy,\u00ab says Krister Wennerberg, who adds that this would be relevant for about 25 per cent of patients with a particular genetic composition in their cancer.<\/p>\n<p>The two researchers hope the discovery will lead to clinical trials, allowing people with this specific genetic profile and cancer type to try the treatment. And they are looking forward to this, because \u2014 as in much other research \u2014 the patients who donated cancer cells for the current organoids will not themselves benefit from the results of the research here and now.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf you want to help the patient who donated the tumour tissue, you have to be quick. Often it takes months \u2014 maybe even years \u2014 before we receive the material, and by then the patient may no longer be alive,\u00ab says Wojciech Senkowski, and continues:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAs a donor, you are more likely helping the patients who come after you. And as researchers, we are very grateful to those who decide to contribute.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Sharing organoids with the world<\/h3>\n<p>Krister Wennerberg and Wojciech Senkowski were among the first in the world to develop ovarian cancer organoids. That is why they have also explored how to share both the models and the methods with the international research community.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbLegally and ethically, it is difficult to share the models, as they are based on cells from real people. But we collaborate with Finnish researchers in the EU project DECIDER, which collects samples from patients who have given consent for them to be shared,\u00ab says Krister Wennerberg, and continues:<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/overdiagnosis-harms-patients-professor-calls-for-danish-medical-education-overhaul\/\">Overdiagnosis harms patients \u2014 professor calls for Danish medical education overhaul<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis means that it is possible to share many of the organoids with the research community via a biobank, Auria, which is located at the Turku University Hospital in Finland.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Wojciech Senkowski adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe also share our methods, so others don\u2019t have to spend years trying to develop them.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>He explains that their vision is to one day create a virtual collection of different organoid models, accessible to researchers around the world. There are currently several research projects working with organoid models across various types of cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbOvarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women, and it is a very complex form of cancer. That makes the organoids difficult to create. We hope our work will make ovarian cancer organoids more accessible to researchers and help accelerate the discovery of new treatment options,\u00ab says Wojciech Senkowski.<br \/>\n<!-- end of module 2 --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In body-temperature incubators at BRIC, a series of micro cancer tumours are growing \u2014 based on cells from real patients. The tumours can be used to test more than 1,000 alternative treatment options simultaneously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":178120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cancer in a dish: UCPH scientists turn tumours into thousands of experiments \u2014 University Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/cancer-in-a-dish-ucph-scientists-turn-tumours-into-thousands-of-experiments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cancer in a dish: UCPH scientists turn tumours into thousands of experiments \u2014 University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In body-temperature incubators at BRIC, a series of micro cancer tumours are growing \u2014 based on cells from real patients. The tumours can be used to test more than 1,000 alternative treatment options simultaneously.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/cancer-in-a-dish-ucph-scientists-turn-tumours-into-thousands-of-experiments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-19T09:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-19T09:09:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of12048x1365.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Camilla Skovgaard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" 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08:19:33","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-1280x853.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":853,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-2048x1365.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"style":"extended","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"A trained eye can spot the outline of a white cell mass \u2014 this is where a cancer tumour is."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Organoids","text":"I kropsvarme skabe p\u00e5 BRIC gror en r\u00e6kke mikrokr\u00e6fttumorer, som bygger p\u00e5 celler fra rigtige patienter. Tumorerne kaldes organoider og kan bruges til at teste mere end 1.000 alternative behandlingsformer p\u00e5 samme tid.    ","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>In a laboratory at the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), four incubators have unusual contents.<\/p>\n<p>The incubators are kept at a constant 37 degrees Celsius, because they contain tiny human cells that need to stay warm, grow, and develop \u2014 just as if they were still inside a real human body.<\/p>\n<p>And even though the cells are nurtured and cared for with nutrient-rich protein gel, warmth, and careful handling, they are not particularly healthy. Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>How does the tumour develop? What alternative treatments might work for this specific patient?<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Wojciech Senkowski, Assistant Professor, BRIC<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The cells are, in fact, tiny cancer tumours formed from tissue samples taken from real patients with ovarian cancer.<\/p>\n<p>If you look closely at the coloured protein gel, you can see a series of bright spots that make up the cell mass. Place the mass under a microscope, and the cancer tumours themselves come into view:<\/p>\n<p>Grey, misshapen objects embedded throughout the white mass, varying clearly in both shape and size from sample to sample.<\/p>\n<p>These lab-grown cancer tumours are called organoids, and according to the lead researchers \u2014 Professor Krister Wennerberg and Assistant Professor Wojciech Senkowski \u2014 they will offer deeper insights into ovarian cancer and be used for testing for a wide range of alternative treatments in the future.<\/p>\n<h3>Cancer comes back<\/h3>\n<p>The research project began as part of an EU initiative. It has been running for seven years and has since received funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Danish Cancer Society, Independent Research Fund Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark, and the organisation OvaCure.<\/p>\n<p>The core aim of the project is to explore how cancer treatment can be tailored to individual ovarian cancer patients, explains Krister Wennerberg.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWhat is particular to ovarian cancer is that it often reemerges. We often see a patient treated with the standard methods \u2014 chemotherapy and surgery \u2014 and declared cancer-free. But after a few years, the cancer often returns \u2014 and then it\u2019s difficult to treat,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n<p>Another defining characteristic of ovarian cancer is that it typically varies from patient to patient \u2014 which is why the research project focuses on exploring personalised treatment options.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbEvery patient sample we receive is different \u2014 for example in the genomic composition of the cancer. That\u2019s why we try to create our organoids as ultra-personalised models, where we preserve both the unique genetic profile, the structure, and the morphology of the original tumour,\u00ab says Wojciech Senkowski.<\/p>\n<p>It took around two to three years to develop the first organoids, but once they figured it out, progress sped up. Today, there are 35 organoids in the BRIC lab \u2014 and the more organoids, the more answers, according to Wojciech Senkowski.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbNow we can begin to ask questions like: How does the tumour develop? What alternative treatments might work for this specific patient,\u00ab he says, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIn some cases, we\u2019ve even been lucky enough to get a sample from a patient when the cancer was first diagnosed and again if it came back. That\u2019s incredibly valuable for research.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Tumour divided up into minute pieces<\/h3>\n<p>To test alternative treatments, the tiny cancer tumour is divided into nearly 400 even smaller tumours, allowing the research team to test more than 1,000 different treatment options simultaneously.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"MultiImage","images":[{"image":{"ID":178125,"id":178125,"title":"organoider (4 of 1)","filename":"organoider4of1-scaled.jpg","filesize":654052,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/ku-forskere-dyrker-kraeft-uden-for-kroppen-en-tumor-bliver-til-tusind-forsoeg\/organoider-4-of-1\/","alt":"","author":"99","description":"","caption":"Adjunkt Wojciech Senkowski (tv) og professor Krister Wennerberg st\u00e5r i spidsen for forskningsprojektet. ","name":"organoider-4-of-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":178118,"date":"2025-06-13 12:08:03","modified":"2025-06-16 08:11:22","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-1280x853.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":853,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-2048x1365.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider4of1-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"Assistant Professor Wojciech Senkowski (left) and Professor Krister Wennerberg lead the research project."},{"image":{"ID":178121,"id":178121,"title":"organoider (2 of 1)","filename":"organoider2of1-scaled.jpg","filesize":728728,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/ku-forskere-dyrker-kraeft-uden-for-kroppen-en-tumor-bliver-til-tusind-forsoeg\/organoider-2-of-1\/","alt":"","author":"99","description":"","caption":"Under mikroskop tr\u00e6der selve kr\u00e6fttumorerne frem. ","name":"organoider-2-of-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":178118,"date":"2025-06-13 12:07:53","modified":"2025-06-16 08:11:34","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-1280x853.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":853,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-2048x1365.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider2of1-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"Under the microscope, the cancer tumours come into view."}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>\u00bbThen we see whether the cancer cells are destroyed or not. What works varies greatly from patient to patient. But recently we identified a potential new treatment that might work for around one quarter of all patients,\u00ab says Krister Wennerberg.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/when-the-cancer-scientists-husband-got-cancer\/\">When the cancer researcher&#8217;s husband got cancer<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The research team discovered that some types of cancer cells were highly dependent on the so-called <span class=\"secrettext\">protein kinase CK2<\/span> to survive. Protein kinase CK2 is an enzyme that can be crucial for cellular processes, including signalling, cell growth, and death.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women, and it is a very complex form of cancer<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Wojciech Senkowski, Assistant Professor, BRIC<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbWe found that if we introduce medication that blocks the function of the protein kinase, the cancer cells have a harder time surviving. That\u2019s why we believe some patients will benefit greatly from this treatment alongside standard chemotherapy,\u00ab says Krister Wennerberg, who adds that this would be relevant for about 25 per cent of patients with a particular genetic composition in their cancer.<\/p>\n<p>The two researchers hope the discovery will lead to clinical trials, allowing people with this specific genetic profile and cancer type to try the treatment. And they are looking forward to this, because \u2014 as in much other research \u2014 the patients who donated cancer cells for the current organoids will not themselves benefit from the results of the research here and now.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf you want to help the patient who donated the tumour tissue, you have to be quick. Often it takes months \u2014 maybe even years \u2014 before we receive the material, and by then the patient may no longer be alive,\u00ab says Wojciech Senkowski, and continues:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAs a donor, you are more likely helping the patients who come after you. And as researchers, we are very grateful to those who decide to contribute.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Sharing organoids with the world<\/h3>\n<p>Krister Wennerberg and Wojciech Senkowski were among the first in the world to develop ovarian cancer organoids. That is why they have also explored how to share both the models and the methods with the international research community.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbLegally and ethically, it is difficult to share the models, as they are based on cells from real people. But we collaborate with Finnish researchers in the EU project DECIDER, which collects samples from patients who have given consent for them to be shared,\u00ab says Krister Wennerberg, and continues:<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/overdiagnosis-harms-patients-professor-calls-for-danish-medical-education-overhaul\/\">Overdiagnosis harms patients \u2014 professor calls for Danish medical education overhaul<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis means that it is possible to share many of the organoids with the research community via a biobank, Auria, which is located at the Turku University Hospital in Finland.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Wojciech Senkowski adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe also share our methods, so others don\u2019t have to spend years trying to develop them.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>He explains that their vision is to one day create a virtual collection of different organoid models, accessible to researchers around the world. There are currently several research projects working with organoid models across various types of cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbOvarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women, and it is a very complex form of cancer. That makes the organoids difficult to create. We hope our work will make ovarian cancer organoids more accessible to researchers and help accelerate the discovery of new treatment options,\u00ab says Wojciech Senkowski.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with upcoming events and top University of Copenhagen stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":46,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":831,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11488,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":672,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/organoider1of1-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178303"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178495,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178303\/revisions\/178495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}