# MetaboCore: Needle biopsy assay of drug sensitivity for solid tumors.

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $401,113

## Abstract

Abstract
The goal of personalized oncology is to select the most appropriate drug(s) for individual cancers.
A number of platforms (e.g., organoids and PDX mice) have been developed to generate human
cancer models for drug sensitivity testing, but they have yet to deliver on their promise as an
every-day clinical assay for use by oncologists. The major hurdles limiting success of
personalized drug sensitivity testing are the long turnaround time and the amount of starting
material needed, in addition to the loss of the original tumor microenvironment. To address these
shortcomings, we developed an elegant assay to evaluate drug sensitivity based on metabolic
changes in fresh tumor tissues obtained through needle biopsies. Our so-called MetaboCore
assay takes advantage of an optimized organotypic culture platform that is suitable drug testing
immediately upon specimen collection, and a novel single-cell metabolic assay that detects
changes in metabolism of cancer cells within a short time of drug exposure. Consequently,
quantitative results of relative drug sensitivity can be obtained within a week of the biopsy.
 In order to advance our assay towards clinical use, we need to create a robust SOP with
defined parameters for each step of the assay in order to achieve reproducible results. The
objectives of the proposal are to examine how biospecimen preanalytical conditions affect assay
performance. Specifically, we will quantify the effects of each of the following variables on tissue
viability and drug response: type and size of biopsy needles, transport solution, overnight storage,
culture conditions, recovery time, drug concentration, treatment duration, and protocols for tissue
dissociation. Based on these findings, we will create a SOP for MetaboCore and test its clinical
performance in a pilot study using needle biopsies of human liver cancers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10858769
- **Project number:** 1U01CA281433-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Wei Wei
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $401,113
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-19 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10858769

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10858769, MetaboCore: Needle biopsy assay of drug sensitivity for solid tumors. (1U01CA281433-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10858769. Licensed CC0.

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