Electrochemotherapy in 3D Ocular Melanoma Spheroids using a Customized Electrode

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biotechnology
• Medical Engineering

Background:

• Electrochemotherapy (ECT) combines electric pulses and cytotoxic drugs to enhance anti-cancer effects.
• Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro tumor models better mimic in vivo conditions than traditional cell cultures.
• Conjunctival melanoma (CM) and uveal melanoma (UM) are rare but aggressive cancers requiring novel treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a protocol for in vitro electrochemotherapy of 3D conjunctival melanoma and uveal melanoma spheroids.
• To evaluate the efficacy of ECT using customized electrodes in a 3D culture system.
• To assess the viability and growth inhibition of melanoma spheroids post-treatment.

Main Methods:

• Development of 3D tumor organoids from CM and UM cell lines.
• Application of hand-held customized electrodes for in vitro electroporation (EP) within culture wells.
• Treatment groups included bleomycin alone, EP alone, and ECT (bleomycin + EP), followed by viability assays 3-7 days post-treatment.

Main Results:

• Electrochemotherapy significantly reduced the viability and inhibited the growth of 3D CM and UM spheroids.
• Neither bleomycin alone nor electroporation alone demonstrated a significant effect on spheroid viability.
• The customized electrodes allowed for effective pulse delivery without disrupting the 3D tumor environment.

Conclusions:

• In vitro electrochemotherapy is a promising approach for treating 3D melanoma spheroids.
• This protocol provides a foundation for future investigations into ECT for conjunctival and uveal melanoma.
• The developed methodology offers a steppingstone towards potential clinical applications of ECT in melanoma treatment.