Melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, poses a significant public health challenge due to its metastatic potential, drug resistance and increasing prevalence. The development of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinted melanoma models has shown promise in providing a more cellular and biochemical relevant representation of the tumor microenvironment. Through 3D bioprinting, a bioink comprised of a mixture of living cells within biocompatible hydrogel biomaterials, can be bioprinted in defined patterns, layer-by-layer, using a pre-determined digital computer-aided design. These models facilitate more physiologically relevant investigation of tumor behavior, drug efficacy, and toxicity. However, there is a need to develop scalable and reproducible 3D bioprinted models for drug efficacy and toxicity screening. There is also a growing need to optimize analysis techniques for more complex 3D models, as most existing methods were primarily designed for two-dimensional (2D) cell culture models. Microscopy-, colorimetric- and fluorescence-based assays present some challenges in analyzing 3D models, including accurately capturing the heterogeneity of cell distribution and the presence of varying spheroid sizes. In addition, with 3D bioprinted constructs the physical properties of the 3D bioprinted biomaterial, such as its opaque nature and optical density, can interfere with imaging, leading to issues like optical light scattering, light absorption and reduced light penetration. This leads to inconsistent or inaccurate readings that fail to accurately reflect the biological processes within the 3D bioprinted model. This perspective will comment on challenges relating to drug efficacy and toxicity screening of 3D bioprinted melanoma models, focusing on the analysis of drug-induced apoptosis.
Plessis et al. (Thu,) studied this question.