In vitro therapeutic efficacy studies are commonly conducted in cell monolayers. However, three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroids are known to better represent in vivo tumors. This study used [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-I&T, an already clinically applied radiopharmaceutical for targeted radionuclide therapy against metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, to demonstrate the differences in the radiobiological response between 2D and 3D cell culture models of the prostate cancer cell lines PC-3 (PSMA negative) and LNCaP (PSMA positive). After assessing the target expression in both models via Western Blot, cell viability, reproductive ability, and growth inhibition were assessed. To investigate the geometric effects on dosimetry for the 2D vs. 3D models, Monte Carlo simulations were performed. Our results showed that PSMA expression in LNCaP spheroids was highly preserved, and target specificity was shown in both models. In monolayers of LNCaP, no short-term (48 h after treatment), but only long-term (14 days after treatment) radiobiological effects were evident, showing decreased viability and reproductive ability with the increasing activity. Further, LNCaP spheroid growth was inhibited with the increasing activity. Overall, treatment efficacy was higher in LNCaP spheroids compared to monolayers, which can be explained by the difference in the resulting dose, among others.
Keywords: LNCaP); [177Lu]Lu-PSMA; multicellular tumor spheroids (3D); prostate cancer (PC-3; radiation oncology; radiobiology; targeted radionuclide therapy.