@misc{9246523,
  abstract     = {{Ovarian cancer (OC) represents one of the most prevalent and lethal malignancies in women, with a need for novel treatments. A large obstacle in the development of OC therapies is the poor translation between preclinical and clinical results, partially attributable to the use of unsuitable models for drug screening. Common models such as cell lines, organoids, spheroids, tumor-on-a-chip, and animal models poorly represent the tumor microenvironment (TME) and cellular architecture. In recent years, ex vivo culturing of patient-derived precision-cut tumor slices (PCTS) has emerged as a promising model in oncological research, as this kind of model captures the TME and architecture of the parent tumor. In this project, we assessed key factors related to the immune compartment in a PCTS model based on ovarian tumors. In the PCTS model, key immune cells were shown to be maintained viable during culturing. Furthermore, immune cell composition post culture largely reflected the baseline tumor tissue, and T cells retained functionality as demonstrated by significant upregulation of CD137 and CD25 in response to stimulation. Although there is a need for further improvements to address intra-tumoral heterogeneity, which can limit reproducibility, PCTS demonstrate great potential as a physiologically relevant model in translational research.}},
  author       = {{Ahlgren, Rebecka and Widov, Johanna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Leveraging patient-derived explant tumor models for translational research}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}