Genomic alterations and molecular subtypes of gastric cancers in Asians

Gastric cancer(GC) is a highly heterogenic disease,and it is the second leading cause of cancer death in the world.Common chemotherapies are not very effective for GC,which often presents as an advanced or metastatic disease at diagnosis.Treatment options are limited,and the prognosis for advanced GCs is poor.The landscape of genomic alterations in GCs has recently been characterized by several international cancer genome programs,including studies that focused exclusively on GCs in Asians.These studies identified major recurrent driver mutations and provided new insights into the mutational heterogeneity and genetic profiles of GCs.An analysis of gene expression data by the Asian Cancer Research Group(ACRG) further uncovered four distinct molecular subtypes with well-defined clinical features and their intersections with actionable genetic alterations to which targeted therapeutic agents are either already available or under clinical development.In this article,we review the ACRG GC project.We also discuss the implications of the genetic and molecular findings from various GC genomic studies with respect to developing more precise diagnoses and treatment approaches for GCs.

Standard:Human intestinal organoids

Organoids have attracted great interest for disease modelling,drug discovery and development,and tissue growth and homeostasis investigations.However,lack of standards for quality control has become a prominent obstacle to limit their translation into clinic and other applications.“Human intestinal organoids”is the first guideline on human intestinal organoids in China,jointly drafted and agreed by the experts from the Chinese Society for Cell Biology and its branch society:the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research.This standard specifies terms and definitions,technical requirements,test methods,inspection rules for human intestinal organoids,which is applicable to quality control during the process of manufacturing and testing of human intestinal organoids.It was originally released by the Chinese Society for Cell Biology on 24 September 2022.We hope that the publication of this standard will guide institutional establishment,acceptance and execution of proper practical protocols and accelerate the international standardization of human intestinal organoids for applications.

Standard:Human intestinal cancer organoids

Intestinal cancer is one of the most frequent and lethal types of cancer.Modeling intestinal cancer using organoids has emerged in the last decade.Human intestinal cancer organoids are physiologically relevant in vitro models,which provides an unprecedented opportunity for fundamental and applied research in colorectal cancer.“Human intestinal cancer organoids”is the first set of guidelines on human intestinal organoids in China,jointly drafted and agreed by the experts from the Chinese Society for Cell Biology and its branch society:the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research.This standard specifies terms and definitions,technical requirements,test methods for human intestinal cancer organoids,which apply to the production and quality control during the process of manufacturing and testing of human intestinal cancer organoids.It was released by the Chinese Society for Cell Biology on 24 September 2022.We hope that the publication of this standard will guide institutional establishment,acceptance and execution of proper practocal protocols,and accelerate the international standardization of human intestinal cancer organoids for clinical development and therapeutic applications.