Browsing by Subject "Gastrointestinal stromal tumour"

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are rare mesenchymal neoplasms that arise from the interstitial cells of Cajal, the so-called pacemaker cells of the intestine. GISTs typically contain an oncogenic driver mutation either in the proto-oncogene KIT or platelet-derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA), which belong to the class III receptor tyrosine kinases. Patients with a high-risk or advanced disease are standardly treated with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib. Despite this molecularly targeted treatment, many patients experience disease relapse, after which the prognosis is poor. Personalised treatment is rarely offered to patients as a first-line treatment option, even though several targeted therapies have been approved for GIST. Increasing treatment personalisation could improve treatment outcomes, yet the lack of patient-specific research models for GIST hinders the research. Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models are widely used in cancer research to study the molecular mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis. Their ability to mimic the tumour biology and microenvironment is superior compared to the traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture model. For several cancers, these cell culture models have also been researched as platforms for personalised treatment selection with promising results. This thesis project aimed to study UPM Biomedicals’ GrowDex-based 3D cell culture model as a potential platform for personalised treatment selection for GIST patients. GrowDex is a plant-derived hydrogel that resembles the extracellular matrix. Another aim of this project was to set up a Sanger sequencing protocol covering frequently mutated areas in GIST to facilitate the validation of this cell culture model through drug testing on patient samples. To assess the GrowDex microenvironment, the viability and proliferation of two GIST cell lines, GIST-T1 and GIST48 were monitored. Furthermore, the imatinib response of GIST-T1 in GrowDex was assessed and compared to the response in other cell culturing conditions. The Sanger sequencing protocol was optimised using the aforementioned cell lines and then applied to GIST patient samples. The results of this project demonstrated that GrowDex provides a suitable microenvironment for culturing GIST cells and supports their 3D growth. GIST-T1 cells were less sensitive to imatinib when cultured in GrowDex in comparison to the 2D culturing condition, which is likely explained by the 3D organisation of the cells. Finally, the Sanger sequencing protocol was used to uncover the KIT/PDGFRA mutation status of several GIST patient samples. In conclusion, these results provide important information for further development of this cell culture model with patient samples.