Analysis of subpopulation of CD20 positive melanoma cells in response to chemotherapy agents, using radionuclide imaging

Abstract

Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive cancer among skin tumors. Both high tumor growth rate and high toxicity caused by the treatment contribute to the lower survival rate of melanoma patients, as compared with patients with other skin cancers. Although various drugs and molecules have been developed over the past few years, little efficiency was obtained in therapy so far. In this context, cancer stem cells seem to play an important role in the resistance of these tumors to chemotherapy. These cells have been identified by several phenotypic characteristics, including the surface cell marker CD20 protein. Thus, it is important to analyze the subpopulation of CD20+ cells in melanoma, to characterize and understand the chemoresistance process of these tumors, and to study this protein as an important target to treat malignant melanomas. Regarding its diagnosis, melanomas can be detected by molecular imaging, using 18Fluor-FDG. However for early detection of these tumors, there have been conflicting results on the efficacy of this radiopharmaceutical product. Therefore, this study aims to examine the CD20+ subpopulation of cancer stem cells in melanoma and the behavior of these cells in different conditions of cellular stress. Furthermore, using an anti-CD20 antibody and versatile techniques of molecular imaging (optical and radioactive), a theragnostic approach will be proposed to control a specific subpopulation of melanoma cells in preclinical models. (AU)