Cold Spring Harbor, New York, August 5, 2026
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and Northwell Health have helped lead an international research collaboration that developed more than 150 next-generation patient-derived cancer organoid models, contributing to one of the world’s most extensive resources for studying tumor biology, drug response and precision oncology. The work forms part of the National Cancer Institute’s Human Cancer Model Initiative (HCMI), a decade-long effort that ultimately produced 665 organoid models spanning 25 cancer types from patient samples. The models are now being made available to researchers worldwide, creating a powerful resource for investigating cancer biology and accelerating the discovery of more personalized treatment strategies. The CSHL-Northwell-led international consortium contributed models representing pancreatic, breast, endometrial, colorectal, bladder, ovarian, head and neck, and lung cancers, with the broader compendium published in Nature.
Patient-Derived Organoids Bring Cancer Research Closer to Reality
A central achievement of the initiative is the development of three-dimensional patient-derived organoids that more closely reproduce the biological characteristics of actual human tumors than many conventional research models. Organoids are cellular clusters grown from patient tissue and designed to mimic important structural and molecular characteristics of the original tumor. The HCMI project began in 2017 with the goal of creating a large collection of these three-dimensional cancer culture systems. By allowing researchers to study tumor biology and therapeutic responses in laboratory conditions, the models could provide a more representative experimental platform for evaluating cancer vulnerabilities and potential treatments. The resulting resource includes 522 models accompanied by comprehensive clinical data, 153 models representing rare cancers and 71 models derived from participants of non-European ancestry. Researchers can also access matched original tumor material and molecular information including DNA and RNA sequencing, transcriptomic and epigenetic data, enabling deeper investigation into the biological mechanisms underlying individual cancers.
Cancer Models Could Accelerate Drug and Target Discovery
The scientific value of these models extends directly into preclinical drug discovery and precision oncology research. Traditional cancer cell lines do not always accurately represent patient tumors, while patient-derived xenograft models can be costly and technically challenging to establish. Organoids offer an alternative because they can be expanded, cryopreserved and used to evaluate potential cancer therapies in laboratory settings. Researchers involved in the initiative are already applying the models to faster drug screening and the identification of new therapeutic targets. HCMI organoids have also contributed to expansion of the Cancer Dependency Map (DepMap), a research effort aimed at identifying molecular vulnerabilities and dependencies that cancer cells rely upon for survival. By incorporating diverse patient-derived models, scientists may be able to uncover previously underrepresented therapeutic vulnerabilities and investigate whether specific molecular characteristics predict sensitivity or resistance to potential treatments.
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Global Resource Supports Precision Oncology and Future Therapies
The initiative also emphasizes diversity in cancer research, an important factor in developing models that better represent real-world patient populations. While most organoids were derived from adults, 43 models originated from pediatric or adolescent donors, and 23% of successfully developed models represented rare cancers. Northwell Health’s clinical infrastructure played an important role in securing patient samples and connecting clinical care with laboratory research. The health system treats more than 19,000 cancer patients annually, and participating patients provided biospecimens that helped establish the research repository. Ultimately, investigators envision patient-derived organoids supporting research into individualized drug combinations, therapeutic response and new cancer targets, potentially helping scientists better determine which approaches should progress toward clinical investigation. The resource does not itself establish clinical efficacy for any treatment, but it provides researchers with a sophisticated experimental foundation for translating discoveries into future therapeutic strategies. By combining patient-derived models, molecular profiling, clinical information and international scientific collaboration, the HCMI compendium represents a significant advance for translational cancer research and precision medicine.
Source: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory press release
