Abstract 2794: A novel HNSCC organoid-on-a-chip platform for preclinical investigation and drug screening

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cancer is a broad category of tumor types arising from the inner lining of various anatomic structures including the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and salivary glands. Treatment often involves an intensive combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Despite this, tumor recurrence rates remain high and survival rates are relatively poor. Here, we describe a novel high throughput drug screening platform combining the OrganoPlate®, a microfluidic based 3D-culture system, and HN cancer-derived organoids. MIMETAS develops Organ-on-a-Chip-based models for evaluation of new medicines. Our unique microfluidic technology enables testing of compounds on miniaturized 3D organ models in high-throughput. Hereby we show the establishment of HNSCC cancer-derived organoids in 2-lane OrganoPlate®, and its usefulness for phenotypic drug screenings. The aim of the study is to capture differential sensitivity of HN organoid lines to either a common platinum-based chemotherapy or to a targeted drug still not used in the clinic. Organoid lines (T1, T3 and T5) were embedded in the 2-lane OrganoPlate® as single cells in an extracellular matrix gel. At day 2, cultures were treated with cisplatin or PARP-inhibitor niraparib for 120 hours. Additionally, cultures exposed to high doses of cisplatin were evaluated after one week of recovery in order to determine treatment failure and recapitulate potential patient relapse. Drug response was evaluated by assessment of morphology (phase contrast), cell viability (total nuclei count, alamar blue assay), proliferation (EdU incorporation) and DNA damage (phosphorylated histone H2AX). Organoid cultures grow well under medium perfusion in the 2-lane OrganoPlate® and selective sensitivity to cisplatin and niraparib is revealed by the used readouts. The high-throughput, microfluidic 2-lane OrganoPlate® platform offers an attractive method for growing HNSCC cancer-derived organoids, supporting development of individualized tumour models for phenotypic drug screenings. Citation Format: Silvia Bonilla, Else Driehuis, Henriette Lanz, Hans Clevers, Jos Joore, Karla Queiroz, Paul Vulto. A novel HNSCC organoid-on-a-chip platform for preclinical investigation and drug screening [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 2794.