Organoids in pediatric cancer research

Over the past decade, organoid technology has emerged as a transformative tool in biomedical research, enabling the development of physiologically relevant models of both healthy and malignant tissues. While this technology has substantially advanced our understanding of adult cancers, its application in pediatric oncology remains limited. Pediatric tumors are not only biologically distinct from adult malignancies but also present a lower incidence, posing additional challenges for model development. Despite these obstacles, recent efforts have led to the successful generation of organoids from various pediatric tumor types, offering new opportunities to explore disease mechanisms and therapeutic responses in a patient-specific manner. In this Review, we summarize recent advances in organoid technology in pediatric cancer research, with a focus on its applications in preclinical and translational research. We also discuss current limitations and highlight emerging innovations that hold promise for further refining pediatric cancer models.