A Platform of Patient-Derived Microtumors Identifies Individual Treatment Responses and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in Ovarian Cancer

A Platform of Patient-Derived Microtumors Identifies Individual Treatment Responses and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in Ovarian Cancer
Anderle, N., Koch, A., Gierke, B., Keller, A. L., Staebler, A., Hartkopf, A., Brucker, S. Y., Pawlak, M., Schenke-Layland, K., & Schmees, C.
Cancers, 14(12), 2895. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14122895

In light of the frequent development of therapeutic resistance in cancer treatment, there is a strong need for personalized model systems representing patient tumor heterogeneity, while enabling parallel drug testing and identification of appropriate treatment responses in individual patients. Using ovarian cancer as a prime example of a heterogeneous tumor disease, we developed a 3D preclinical tumor model comprised of patient-derived microtumors (PDM) and autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) to identify individual treatment vulnerabilities and validate chemo-, immuno- and targeted therapy efficacies. Enzymatic digestion of primary ovarian cancer tissue and cultivation in defined serum-free media allowed rapid and efficient recovery of PDM, while preserving histopathological features of corresponding patient tumor tissue. Reverse-phase protein array (RPPA)-analyses of >110 total and phospho-proteins enabled the identification of patient-specific sensitivities to standard, platinum-based therapy and thereby the prediction of potential treatment-responders. Co-cultures of PDM and autologous TILs for individual efficacy testing of immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment demonstrated patient-specific enhancement of cytotoxic TIL activity by this therapeutic approach. Combining protein pathway analysis and drug efficacy testing of PDM enables drug mode-of-action analyses and therapeutic sensitivity prediction within a clinically relevant time frame after surgery. Follow-up studies in larger cohorts are currently under way to further evaluate the applicability of this platform to support clinical decision making