Fig S3. Dose-response curves of single agents and combination depicted for the differently responding subgroups. Dose-response curves of Fig. 2 separated to single agents and combinations are depicted for a responder (A), a non responder (B) and an intermediate responder (C). Explanation for the subgroup definition is depicted next to the dose-response curves.
ARTICLE ABSTRACT
Purpose: Finding new treatment options for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma is challenging due to the rarity and heterogeneity of this cancer type. The absence of druggable targets further complicates the development of new therapies. Current treatment options are therefore limited, and prognosis remains poor.Experimental Design: We performed drug screening on primary mesothelioma cultures to guide treatment decisions of corresponding patients that were progressive after first- or second-line treatment.Results: We observed a high concordance between in vitro results and clinical outcomes. We defined three subgroups responding differently to the anticancer drugs tested. In addition, gene expression profiling yielded distinct signatures that segregated the differently responding subgroups. These genes signatures involved various pathways, most prominently the fibroblast growth factor pathway.Conclusions: Our primary mesothelioma culture system has proved to be suitable to test novel drugs. Chemical profiling of primary mesothelioma cultures allows personalizing treatment for a group of patients with a rare tumor type where clinical trials are notoriously difficult. This personalized treatment strategy is expected to improve the poor prospects of patients with mesothelioma. Clin Cancer Res; 24(7); 1761–70. ©2017 AACR.See related commentary by John and Chia, p. 1513
