AccScience Publishing / OR / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/OR026240027
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COMMENTARY

Breast organoids: A paradigm shift from disease models to living pharmacies

Wenzhen Yin1 Jinmei Diao2 Juan Liu3*
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1 Clinical Translational Science Center, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2 Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Center, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Key Laboratory of Digital Intelligence Hepatology, Ministry of Education, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
3 School of Future Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
Received: 8 June 2026 | Revised: 27 June 2026 | Accepted: 2 July 2026 | Published online: 14 July 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Organoid technology has garnered significant attention for its ability to closely recapitulate the structure and function of parental tissues in vitro. Over the past decade, this technology has primarily served as a passive disease model widely applied in drug screening and precision medicine. Transforming these static in vitro models into dynamic therapeutic tools remains a critical bottleneck in the field. Bridging this gap requires shifting from merely simulating diseases to actively repairing tissues. Recently, a groundbreaking study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering introduced an innovative “living pharmacy” strategy—engineered organoids that function as autonomous, implantable drug factories capable of sustained local drug production and tissue regeneration—using engineered breast organoids. This approach transcends previous limitations and offers a promising solution for postoperative breast cancer treatment and breast function regeneration.

Keywords
Breast organoids
Tissue regeneration
Living pharmacy
Drug delivery
Engineered organoids
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
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Organoid Research, Electronic ISSN: 3082-8503 Published by AccScience Publishing