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Single-cell tumor dormancy model of uveal melanoma

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Abstract

Background Ocular melanoma is easily treated by the removal of the eye or through plaque radiotherapy. However, after removal or control of the primary tumor, patients can develop fatal liver metastases up to 20 years later. It has been reported that difficulties in imaging single cells and the propensity for tumor cells to replicate rapidly in animal models account for the deficit of single-cell tumor dormancy models. Methods In this paper, we performed two animal experiments using green fluorescent-labeled uveal melanoma cells in nude mice. Cells were injected via tail-vein and the experiments ran 20 and 42 days, respectively. Labeled cells were imaged in vivo via skin-flap and epifluorescent microscopy. Results The first experiment exemplified the feasibility of a single-cell tumor dormancy model; cells were present in multiple organs post-injection, but persisted solely in the liver for the duration of the experiment. The second experiment, demonstrating the presence and viability of these single, metastatic seeds 6 weeks after injection. Conclusion Due to the inherent difficulties in establishing single-celled tumor dormancy models, few exist. In this paper, we have successfully developed a single-cell dormancy model of uveal melanoma, a disease that, in patients, epitomizes tumor dormancy. This model has the potential to reveal the mechanisms behind dormancy, identify patients at high risk for metastatic development, and develop new serum biomarkers for micrometastasis detection.

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Abbreviations

GFP:

Green fluorescent protein

CMCs:

Circulating malignant cells

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to those in the animal care committee that tended to the mice and to Dr. Malcolm Baines (McGill) for his invaluable aid with the tail-vein injections. Part of this research was funded by a grant from the Cedars Cancer Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Henry C. Witelson Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory and Registry, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Patrick T. Logan, Bruno F. Fernandes, Sebastian Di Cesare, Jean-Claude A. Marshall, Shawn C. Maloney & Miguel N. Burnier Jr.

Authors
  1. Patrick T. Logan
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  2. Bruno F. Fernandes
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  3. Sebastian Di Cesare
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  4. Jean-Claude A. Marshall
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  5. Shawn C. Maloney
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  6. Miguel N. Burnier Jr.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick T. Logan.

Additional information

Parts of this manuscript have been accepted for presentation at the 2007 European Association for Vision and Eye Research Conference (EVER) and awarded the Travel Grant in Oncology.

Parts of this manuscript were presented at the 2007 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Conference.

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Logan, P.T., Fernandes, B.F., Di Cesare, S. et al. Single-cell tumor dormancy model of uveal melanoma. Clin Exp Metastasis 25, 509–516 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10585-008-9158-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10585-008-9158-2

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