Real-time ex vivo perfusion of human lymph nodes invaded by cancer (REPLICANT): a feasibility study.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how breast cancer (BC) grows in axillary lymph nodes (ALNs), and refining how therapies might halt that process, is clinically important. However, modelling the complex ALN microenvironment is difficult, and no human models exist at present. We harvested ALNs from ten BC patients, and perfused them at 37?°C ex vivo for up to 24?h. Controlled autologous testing showed that ALNs remain viable after 24?h of ex vivo perfusion: haematoxylin and eosin-stained histological appearance and proliferation (by Ki67 immunohistochemistry) did not change significantly over time for any perfused ALN compared with a control from time-point zero. Furthermore, targeted gene expression analysis (NanoString PanCancer IO360 panel) showed that only 21/750 genes were differentially expressed between control and perfused ALNs (|log2 FC|?>?1 and q?

SUBMITTER: Barrow-McGee R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7065097 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature