Predicting patient-specific therapeutic responses with organ-on-a-chip technology

This session brings together Dr. Lorenzo Ferri of McGill University and Dr. Donald Ingber of Harvard’s Wyss Institute to showcase a breakthrough in personalized cancer care. Dr. Ferri highlights the challenge of treating esophageal cancer, where traditional chemotherapy often fails and patients endure toxicity without guaranteed benefit. His team now combines patient‑derived organoids with Dr. Ingber’s organ‑on‑a‑chip technology to recreate each patient’s tumor in a dynamic, lifelike environment.

These cancer‑on‑chips accurately predict how an individual will respond to chemotherapy, something organoids alone can’t fully achieve. The platform even reveals how stromal and immune cells shape treatment resistance. Using high‑throughput drug screens, the team identifies existing drugs that can “rescue” chemo‑resistant tumors, converting them into treatment‑responsive ones on the chip.