Abstract 5556: Mice models of three human mesothelioma histotypes derived from primary patient tumors

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Mesothelioma, sometimes referred to as asbestos cancer, is known to be among the most aggressive and difficult to treat tumours. The disease attacks the mesothelium, a protective two-layered membrane that covers the internal organs of the body including the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. Mesothelioma can affect any of these layers, but is usually seen in the pleural (lung) or peritoneal (abdomen) mesothelium. The most commonly diagnosed form of this cancer is pleural mesothelioma, caused primarily by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. The prevalence of this cancer is estimated at less than 1% of all cancers, however its incidence is increasing, with an expected peak in the next 10-20 years. Mesotheliomas are tumours that have a poor prognosis due to limited treatment options. The most aggressive form is the sarcomatoid histotype, followed by the biphasic and the epithelioid histotypes.In order to setup in vivo models of human mesothelioma, translational related to human pathology in terms of histology, antigen expression and pharmacological response to therapy, we have established three mesothelioma in vivo models using primary cells derived from patients having different mesothelioma histotypes.We stably transfected MM-432 (sarcomatoid), MM-473 (epithelioid) and MM-487 (biphasic) mesothelioma cell lines with a luciferase expression vector. The selected high luc-espressing clones were inoculated intrapleurally in immunodeficient nude mice, and they successfully invaded and proliferated within the murine host. In particular, the epithelioid histotype presented tumour growth 100% of the time, after a short latency period. The biphasic histotype failed to present tumour growth in 30% of the cases, however was far more aggressive than the epithelial histotype upon establishment of tumour growth. Moreover, the ex-vivo Immunocytochemistry (i.e for CEA, EMA, Mesothelin, Podoplanin, calretinin) and biochemical characterization (i.e.EGFR, VEGF, Top1, TKs pathways) of the three histotypes, revealed histotype-related differences. Finally, the cytotoxic responses to a panel of antitumor drugs (i.e . Doxorubicin , Topotecan , Ciclofosfamide, Dacarbazina, Gemcitabine, Temozolomide, Bortezomib, 5-azacitidina, Paclitaxel, Etoposide, 5-FU, Cisplatin, and AZD-2281) revealed that the three original cell lines, compared to the corresponding luc-expressing clones, had similar sensitivities to drugs depending upon the tumor histotypes. Further, in vivo characterizations focused on chemotherapeutic responses of these models, are currently in progress. Citation Format: Claudio Pisano, Alison G. Cole, Marcella Barbarino, Erminia Bianchino, Mario Guglielmi, Carmela Melito, Grazia Mercadante, Alfonsina Porciello, Assunta Riccio, Ilaria La Porta, Sara Orecchia, Roberta Libener, Laura Mazzucco, Simonetta Andrea Licandro, Pasquale De Luca. Mice models of three human mesothelioma histotypes derived from primary patient tumors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5556. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5556