Optimizing Treatment Response in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Cell-Based Functional Sensitivity Screening

Traditional chemotherapy is the standard of care for lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). However, recent studies have suggested that precision medicine platforms could help identify better treatment options. Our approach involves testing various chemotherapeutics in cells isolated from LSCC patients’ biopsies to make more informed treatment decisions. Five primary LSCC cultures from patient-derived cells were established and exposed to 8 different chemotherapeutics and erlotinib 72 h after culturing, with treatments lasting for 7 days. An immunofluorescence assay with a CK8/18 antibody mixture was utilized to distinguish cancer cells from stromal cells, while a scoring method involving 11 weighted parameters was applied to calculate the drug response score for LSCC patients’ cell responses. Our results suggest that erlotinib could be an effective treatment for LSCC patients and that the dosage of erlotinib might be reduced without compromising its effectiveness. Our findings show that gemcitabine, in addition to platinum drugs, could be beneficial for LSCC patients. The results underscore the potential of functional screening methods to identify effective treatments for LSCC.