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Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Posted: Monday, April 17, 2023
The efficacy of therapeutic drugs for multiple myeloma may now be assessed using a three-dimensional (3D) organoid model constructed from the bone marrow aspirates of patients with myeloma, according to a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023 (Abstract 184/3). Such models establish a heterogenous representation of a tumor’s niche and maintain viability for 21 days, making them useful tools to understand the impact of immunotherapy and optimize personalized medicine for patients, suggested Hanadi M Rashad, MS, MD (ASCP)-CM, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues.
Bone marrow aspirates collected from patients with multiple myeloma were used to construct a 3D organoid model. Cells were incubated for 21 days, with partial media change containing key growth factors to maintain their viability. The cultures were exposed to bortezomib, dexamethasone, lenalidomide, and selinexor at varying concentrations to assess the immediate and delayed effects of treatment in the tumor cells. Flow cytometry and histologic preparations were performed on the cultures for further analyses.
Good cellular preservation was observed within the hematopoietic elements on hematoxylin and eosin stain, according to the investigators, suggesting the 3D organoid model’s functionality at recapitulating the tumor environment. Furthermore, cellular viability was inhibited when treatment with 10 nM of bortezomib or either 10 mM or 30 mM of selinexor was used. However, treatment with 100 mM of lenalidomide had variable impacts on cellular viability. Moreover, flow cytometry of immune cells revealed that lenalidomide has an immunomodulatory effect.
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
