3D Culture Models of Malignant Mesothelioma Reveal a Powerful Interplay Between Photodynamic Therapy and Kinase Suppression Offering Hope to Reduce Tumor Recurrence

Our plain-English summary of 3D Culture Models of Malignant Mesothelioma Reveal a Powerful Interplay Between Photodynamic Therapy and Kinase Suppression Offering Hope to Reduce Tumor Recurrence, by B.Q. Spring, D. Kessel (Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2019).

The study

• Authors: B.Q. Spring, D. Kessel
• Journal: Photochemistry and Photobiology
• Published: 2019;95(1):462-463
• Type of article: Comment
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

In this issue, Cramer et al. introduce 3D culture models of metastatic mesothelioma to investigate basic cancer biology and new combination therapies for combating this complex and lethal disease. The results suggest that erlotinib-enhanced photodynamic therapy could further improve the efficacy of intraoperative light-activation to mop up residual tumor deposits in the clinic following surgical removal of macroscopic mesothelioma metastases.

© 2018 The American Society of Photobiology.

In plain English

This is a short invited commentary, called a highlight article, not an original study. It discusses a laboratory study by Cramer et al. in the same journal issue. That study's detailed methods and quantitative results are not given here. According to the commentary, Cramer et al. built 3D culture models of micrometastatic mesothelioma, meaning lab-grown three-dimensional groups of tumor cells. They used the models to test photodynamic therapy (PDT), a light-activated treatment, combined with erlotinib, a targeted drug against the epidermal growth factor receptor. The commentary states that malignant mesothelioma of the chest lining is due to exposure to airborne asbestos particles, but it does not study asbestos exposure. As background, the authors cited earlier clinical work by others. In that work, a 90-patient cohort given lung-sparing surgery and PDT during the operation, followed by chemotherapy, had a median overall survival of 3 years. The authors compared this with 8 months for standard treatment in a separate study. Both regimens included the same chemotherapy. The authors concluded that the Cramer et al. results further motivate a clinical study of erlotinib-enhanced PDT.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Invited commentary (highlight article) on another study; not original research
• Who was studied: No patients or subjects. The commentary discusses the 3D culture model of micrometastatic mesothelioma that Cramer et al. developed in a separate study.
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure was studied. The treatment discussed in the highlighted study is photodynamic therapy combined with erlotinib, an anti-EGFR targeted drug.
• Main results:
  • The commentary describes the Cramer et al. results as suggesting that erlotinib-enhanced PDT could improve light treatment during surgery to clear residual tumor deposits after removal of visible mesothelioma.
  • Background cited from other studies, not this article: the median overall survival of a 90-patient cohort given lung-sparing surgery and intraoperative PDT, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, was 3 years. The authors compared this with 8 months for patients treated by standard methods, a figure taken from a separate study.
  • The authors state that both the lung-sparing surgery with PDT regimen and the standard regimens included the same adjuvant chemotherapy.
  • Background statement by the authors: malignant mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the chest around the lungs due to exposure to airborne asbestos particles.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the Cramer et al. results further motivate a clinical study of erlotinib-enhanced PDT and offer hope of reducing tumor recurrence and extending life.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Modeling Epidermal Growth Factor Inhibitor-mediated Enhancement of Photodynamic Therapy Efficacy Using 3D Mesothelioma Cell Culture — G. Cramer, M. Shin, et al. (2019)
• A preclinical model to investigate the role of surgically-induced inflammation in tumor responses to intraoperative photodynamic therapy — R.W. Davis, E. Papasavvas, et al. (2018)
• Vascular-targeted low dose photodynamic therapy stabilizes tumor vessels by modulating pericyte contractility — S. Cavin, T. Riedel, et al. (2019)
• Fluence plays a critical role on the subsequent distribution of chemotherapy and tumor growth delay in murine mesothelioma xenografts pre-treated by photodynamic therapy — Y. Wang, X. Wang, et al. (2015)
• Phase III randomized trial of surgery with or without intraoperative photodynamic therapy and postoperative immunochemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma — H.I. Pass, B.K. Temeck, et al. (1997)
• Radical pleurectomy and intraoperative photodynamic therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma — J.S. Friedberg, M.J. Culligan, et al. (2012)

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