Validation of in vitro and in vivo personalized cancer treatment assays for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common cancer with a high heterogeneity and few approved treatments. HNSCC is one of the least explored areas for precision oncology. In this study, we aimed to test the reliability of our three established rapid cancer systemic treatment-testing assays: human tumor-derived matrix (Myogel)-coated well-plates, zebrafish xenografts, and 3D microfluidic chips. Methods Chemo-, radio- and targeted-therapy testing in Myogel-coated wells and zebrafish xenografts was conducted nine times using five samples; two primary and three metastatic tumour samples from three HNSCC patients. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) were isolated from the patients’ blood. The response of the tumour cells to radio-, chemo-, and targeted therapy was tested using Myogel-coated wells and zebrafish larvae xenografts. The tumour cell’s’ response to immunotherapy was tested using 3D microfluidic chips. The cells’ sensitivity to the treatments was compared with the patients’ clinical response. Primary and metastatic tumour tissue-derived DNA samples from two patients underwent whole exome sequencing to compare the mutational profiles of the samples. Results Test results were in line with patients’ responses in 7/9 (77%) zebrafish xenograft assays and 5/9 (55%) Myogel-coated wells assays. Immunotherapy testing was done using one metastatic patient sample which matched the patients’ response. Differences in responses to treatments between primary and metastatic samples of the same patient were detected in 50% of the zebrafish larvae assays. Conclusions Our results show the potential of using personalized cancer treatment testing assays – specifically zebrafish xenografts that showed a 100% sensitivity in predicting the true positive response – on HNSCC patient samples.