Three-dimensional in vitro cancer spheroid models for photodynamic therapy: strengths and opportunities

Three dimensional, in vitro spheroid cultures offer considerable utility for the development and testing of anticancer photodynamic therapy regimens. More complex than monolayer cultures, three-dimensional spheroid systems replicate many of the important cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions that modulate treatment response in vivo. Simple enough to be grown by the thousands and small enough to be optically interrogated, spheroid cultures lend themselves to high-content and high-throughput imaging approaches. These advantages have enabled studies investigating photosensitizer uptake, spatiotemporal patterns of therapeutic response, alterations in oxygen diffusion and consumption during therapy, and the exploration of mechanisms that underlie therapeutic synergy. The use of quantitative imaging methods, in particular, has accelerated the pace of three-dimensional in vitro photodynamic therapy studies, enabling the rapid compilation of multiple treatment response parameters in a single experiment. Improvements in model cultures, the creation of new molecular probes of cell state and function, and innovations in imaging toolkits will be important for the advancement of spheroid culture systems for future photodynamic therapy studies.