1
|
Costa A, Gozzellino L, Nannini M, Astolfi A, Pantaleo MA, Pasquinelli G. Preclinical Models of Visceral Sarcomas. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1624. [PMID: 38002306 PMCID: PMC10669128 DOI: 10.3390/biom13111624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Visceral sarcomas are a rare malignant subgroup of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs). STSs, accounting for 1% of all adult tumors, are derived from mesenchymal tissues and exhibit a wide heterogeneity. Their rarity and the high number of histotypes hinder the understanding of tumor development mechanisms and negatively influence clinical outcomes and treatment approaches. Although some STSs (~20%) have identifiable genetic markers, as specific mutations or translocations, most are characterized by complex genomic profiles. Thus, identification of new therapeutic targets and development of personalized therapies are urgent clinical needs. Although cell lines are useful for preclinical investigations, more reliable preclinical models are required to develop and test new potential therapies. Here, we provide an overview of the available in vitro and in vivo models of visceral sarcomas, whose gene signatures are still not well characterized, to highlight current challenges and provide insights for future studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alice Costa
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Livia Gozzellino
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Margherita Nannini
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Division of Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Annalisa Astolfi
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Abbondanza Pantaleo
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Division of Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Gianandrea Pasquinelli
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Division of Pathology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chen Y, Herzog M, Pliego-Mendieta A, Bühler MM, Harnisch KJ, Haberecker M, Arnold F, Planas-Paz L, Pauli C. Addressing Modern Diagnostic Pathology for Patient-Derived Soft Tissue Sarcosphere Models in the Era of Functional Precision Oncology. J Transl Med 2023; 103:100039. [PMID: 36870294 DOI: 10.1016/j.labinv.2022.100039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Responses to therapy often cannot be exclusively predicted by molecular markers, thus evidencing a critical need to develop tools for better patient selection based on relations between tumor phenotype and genotype. Patient-derived cell models could help to better refine patient stratification procedures and lead to improved clinical management. So far, such ex vivo cell models have been used for addressing basic research questions and in preclinical studies. As they now enter the era of functional precision oncology, it is of utmost importance that they meet quality standards to fully represent the molecular and phenotypical architecture of patients' tumors. Well-characterized ex vivo models are imperative for rare cancer types with high patient heterogeneity and unknown driver mutations. Soft tissue sarcomas account for a very rare, heterogeneous group of malignancies that are challenging from a diagnostic standpoint and difficult to treat in a metastatic setting because of chemotherapy resistance and a lack of targeted treatment options. Functional drug screening in patient-derived cancer cell models is a more recent approach for discovering novel therapeutic candidate drugs. However, because of the rarity and heterogeneity of soft tissue sarcomas, the number of well-established and characterized sarcoma cell models is extremely limited. Within our hospital-based platform we establish high-fidelity patient-derived ex vivo cancer models from solid tumors for enabling functional precision oncology and addressing research questions to overcome this problem. We here present 5 novel, well-characterized, complex-karyotype ex vivo soft tissue sarcosphere models, which are effective tools to study molecular pathogenesis and identify the novel drug sensitivities of these genetically complex diseases. We addressed the quality standards that should be generally considered for the characterization of such ex vivo models. More broadly, we suggest a scalable platform to provide high-fidelity ex vivo models to the scientific community and enable functional precision oncology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanjiang Chen
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marius Herzog
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alicia Pliego-Mendieta
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marco Matteo Bühler
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kim Jannis Harnisch
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martina Haberecker
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Fabian Arnold
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lara Planas-Paz
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Chantal Pauli
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Medical Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Xie J, Kumar A, Dolman MEM, Mayoh C, Khuong-Quang DA, Cadiz R, Wong-Erasmus M, Mould EVA, Grebert-Wade D, Barahona P, Kamili A, Tsoli M, Failes TW, Chow SO, Arndt GM, Bhatia K, Marshall GM, Ziegler DS, Haber M, Lock RB, Tyrrell V, Lau L, Athanasatos P, Gifford AJ. The important role of routine cytopathology in pediatric precision oncology. Cancer Cytopathol 2021; 129:805-818. [PMID: 34043284 DOI: 10.1002/cncy.22448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The development of high-throughput drug screening (HTS) using primary cultures provides a promising, clinically translatable approach to tailoring treatment strategies for patients with cancer. However, this has been challenging for solid tumors because of often limited amounts of tissue available. In most cases, in vitro expansion is required before HTS, which may lead to overgrowth and contamination by non-neoplastic cells. METHODS In this study, hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemical staining were performed on 129 cytopathology cases from 95 patients. These cytopathology cases comprised cell block preparations derived from primary tumor specimens or patient-derived xenografts as part of a pediatric precision oncology trial. Cytopathology cases were compared with the morphology and immunohistochemical staining profile of the original tumor. Cases were reported as tumor cells present, equivocal, or tumor cells absent. The HTS results from cytopathologically validated cultures were incorporated into a multidisciplinary tumor board report issued to the treating clinician to guide clinical decision making. RESULTS On cytopathologic examination, tumor cells were present in 77 of 129 cases (60%) and were absent in 38 of 129 cases (29%), whereas 14 of 129 cases (11%) were equivocal. Cultures that contained tumor cells resembled the tumors from which they were derived. CONCLUSIONS Cytopathologic examination of tumor cell block preparations is feasible and provides detailed morphologic characterization. Cytopathologic examination is essential for ensuring that samples submitted for HTS contain representative tumor cells and that in vitro drug sensitivity data are clinically translatable.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jinhan Xie
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Amit Kumar
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - M Emmy M Dolman
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Chelsea Mayoh
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Dong-Anh Khuong-Quang
- Children's Cancer Center, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Roxanne Cadiz
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Marie Wong-Erasmus
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Emily V A Mould
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Dylan Grebert-Wade
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Paulette Barahona
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Alvin Kamili
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Maria Tsoli
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Timothy W Failes
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Australian Cancer Research Foundation Drug Discovery Center, Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Shu-Oi Chow
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Australian Cancer Research Foundation Drug Discovery Center, Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Greg M Arndt
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Australian Cancer Research Foundation Drug Discovery Center, Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kanika Bhatia
- Children's Cancer Center, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Glenn M Marshall
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Kids Cancer Center, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David S Ziegler
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Kids Cancer Center, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Michelle Haber
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard B Lock
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Vanessa Tyrrell
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Loretta Lau
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Children's Cancer Center, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Penny Athanasatos
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andrew J Gifford
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.,Department of Anatomical Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Dzobo K, Senthebane DA, Thomford NE, Rowe A, Dandara C, Parker MI. Not Everyone Fits the Mold: Intratumor and Intertumor Heterogeneity and Innovative Cancer Drug Design and Development. OMICS-A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2019; 22:17-34. [PMID: 29356626 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2017.0174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Disruptive innovations in medicine are game-changing in nature and bring about radical shifts in the way we understand human diseases, their treatment, and/or prevention. Yet, disruptive innovations in cancer drug design and development are still limited. Therapies that cure all cancer patients are in short supply or do not exist at all. Chief among the causes of this predicament is drug resistance, a mechanism that is much more dynamic than previously understood. Drug resistance has limited the initial success experienced with biomarker-guided targeted therapies as well. A major contributor to drug resistance is intratumor heterogeneity. For example, within solid tumors, there are distinct subclones of cancer cells, presenting profound complexity to cancer treatment. Well-known contributors to intratumor heterogeneity are genomic instability, the microenvironment, cellular genotype, cell plasticity, and stochastic processes. This expert review explains that for oncology drug design and development to be more innovative, we need to take into account intratumor heterogeneity. Initially thought to be the preserve of cancer cells, recent evidence points to the highly heterogeneous nature and diverse locations of stromal cells, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and cancer-associated macrophages (CAMs). Distinct subpopulations of CAFs and CAMs are now known to be located immediately adjacent and distant from cancer cells, with different subpopulations exerting different effects on cancer cells. Disruptive innovation and precision medicine in clinical oncology do not have to be a distant reality, but can potentially be achieved by targeting these spatially separated and exclusive cancer cell subclones and CAF subtypes. Finally, we emphasize that disruptive innovations in drug discovery and development will likely come from drugs whose effect is not necessarily tumor shrinkage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Dzobo
- 1 International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) , Cape Town, South Africa .,2 Division of Medical Biochemistry, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town , Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Dimakatso Alice Senthebane
- 1 International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) , Cape Town, South Africa .,2 Division of Medical Biochemistry, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town , Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nicholas Ekow Thomford
- 3 Pharmacogenetics Research Group, Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town , Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Arielle Rowe
- 1 International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) , Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Collet Dandara
- 3 Pharmacogenetics Research Group, Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town , Cape Town, South Africa
| | - M Iqbal Parker
- 2 Division of Medical Biochemistry, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town , Cape Town, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Miserocchi G, Mercatali L, Liverani C, De Vita A, Spadazzi C, Pieri F, Bongiovanni A, Recine F, Amadori D, Ibrahim T. Management and potentialities of primary cancer cultures in preclinical and translational studies. J Transl Med 2017; 15:229. [PMID: 29116016 PMCID: PMC5688825 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-017-1328-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of patient-derived primary cell cultures in cancer preclinical assays has increased in recent years. The management of resected tumor tissue remains complex and a number of parameters must be respected to obtain complete sample digestion and optimal vitality yield. We provide an overview of the benefits of correct primary cell culture management using different preclinical methodologies, and describe the pros and cons of this model with respect to other kinds of samples. One important advantage is that the heterogeneity of the cell populations composing a primary culture partially reproduces the tumor microenvironment and crosstalk between malignant and healthy cells, neither of which is possible with cell lines. Moreover, the use of patient-derived specimens in innovative preclinical technologies, such as 3D systems or bioreactors, represents an important opportunity to improve the translational value of the results obtained. In vivo models could further our understanding of the crosstalk between tumor and other tissues as they enable us to observe the systemic and biological interactions of a complete organism. Although engineered mice are the most common model used in this setting, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) species has recently been recognized as an innovative experimental system. In fact, the transparent body and incomplete immune system of zebrafish embryos are especially useful for evaluating patient-derived tumor tissue interactions in healthy hosts. In conclusion, ex vivo systems represent an important tool for cancer research, but samples require correct manipulation to maximize their translational value.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Miserocchi
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| | - Laura Mercatali
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy.
| | - Chiara Liverani
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| | - Alessandro De Vita
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| | - Chiara Spadazzi
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| | - Federica Pieri
- Pathology Unit, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital, Via Carlo Forlanini 34, 47121, Forlì, Italy
| | - Alberto Bongiovanni
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| | - Federica Recine
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| | - Dino Amadori
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| | - Toni Ibrahim
- Osteoncology and Rare Tumors Center, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Piero Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy
| |
Collapse
|