Osteosarcoma News and Research

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Between two and three percent of all childhood cancers are osteosarcoma. Because osteosarcoma usually develops from osteoblasts, it most commonly affects children and young adults experiencing their adolescent growth spurt. Boys and girls have a similar incidence rate until later in their adolescence, when boys are more commonly affected. While most tumors occur in larger bones, such as the femur, tibia, and humerus, and in the area of the bone that has the fastest growth rate, they can occur in any bone. The most common symptom is pain, but swelling and limited movement can occur as the tumor grows.

Osteosarcoma is an orphan disease with approximately 1,200 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year. A similar incidence of the disease exists in Europe. According to the Children's Oncology Group (COG), the survival of children with osteosarcoma has remained at 60-65 percent since the mid-1980s. The standard treatment for osteosarcoma is tumor resection with combination chemotherapy before and after surgery.

Virus-like particle could translate into new vaccine for cancer treatment

Michigan State University scientists are engineering a virus-like particle, known as Qβ, that will generate anti-cancer immune responses in the body and potentially be used as a new vaccine for the treatment of cancer.

2 Mar 2018

Scientists use novel epigenetic-centered techniques to inhibit cancer metastases

In one of the first successes of its kind, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and six other institutions have inhibited the spreading of cancer cells from one part of the body to another.

12 Feb 2018

Targeted fluorescence successfully identifies pulmonary metastases in osteosarcoma patient

In a proof-of-principle case report, researchers announce that targeted fluorescence successfully identified pulmonary metastases in a patient with osteosarcoma, making it easier for surgeons to locate the tumors for resection.

5 Jan 2018

Researchers reveal how tumor cells disrupt circadian rhythm to survive

Tumor cells use the unfolded protein response to alter circadian rhythm, which contributes to more tumor growth, Hollings Cancer Center researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina find.

28 Dec 2017

New cancer drug begins clinical trial in human patients with rare brain tumor

A drug that spurs cancer cells to self-destruct has been cleared for use in a clinical trial of patients with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare malignant brain tumor, and glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive late-stage cancer of the brain.

28 Nov 2017

Diet and exercise have potential to improve chemotherapy effectiveness in pediatric cancer patients

Diet and exercise may improve treatment outcomes in pediatric cancer patients, according to a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital.

21 Sep 2017

St. Jude creates world’s largest collection of pediatric solid tumor samples

In an effort to improve outcomes for patients with some of the deadliest childhood cancers, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have created the world's largest collection of pediatric solid tumor samples, drug-sensitivity data and related information and have made the resource available at no charge to the global scientific community.

31 Aug 2017

New approach may improve translation of immunological research findings

Mouse models have advanced our understanding of immune function and disease in many ways but they have failed to account for the natural diversity in human immune responses.

27 Jul 2017

Bone metastasis-targeting drug shows potential as new therapeutic strategy for osteosarcoma

The treatment of osteosarcoma, the most common tumor of bone, is challenging. A study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found a drug known as bone metastasis-targeting peptidomimetic (BMTP-11) has potential as a new therapeutic strategy for this devastating illness.

13 Jul 2017

Existing drugs could help subgroup of patients with osteosarcoma, suggest scientists

A subgroup of patients with osteosarcoma - a form of bone cancer - could be helped by an existing drug, suggest scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators at University College London Cancer Institute and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust.

23 Jun 2017

Could a blood test predict how cancer spreads in children?

Traditionally, we use biopsies to try to predict how cancer spreads. There are a number of molecular markers that are used, but biopsy is a limited approach. Now, the current trend is to use liquid biopsy, which is basically a blood sample.

21 Jun 2017

Study finds steady decline in severe health problems for childhood cancer survivors

Treatments for childhood cancer are often intense and carry the risk of lifelong health problems for survivors. An analysis of 23,600 childhood cancer survivors in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that the rate of severe health problems occurring five or more years after diagnosis has declined over time.

5 Jun 2017

Researchers identify how post-biotics lower blood glucose during obesity

You've heard of pre-biotics and pro-biotics, but now you'll be hearing a lot more about post-biotics. Researchers at McMaster University have begun to identify how post-biotics, or the by-products of bacteria, lower blood glucose and allow insulin to work better.

20 Apr 2017

Penn researchers discover antimicrobial that thwarts Zika viral entry into human cells

A panel of small molecules that inhibit Zika virus infection, including one that stands out as a potent inhibitor of Zika viral entry into relevant human cell types, was discovered by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

17 Jan 2017

Yoga during active treatment can provide QOL benefits for pediatric cancer patients and parents

A yoga program for children with cancer can be carried out even during cancer treatment, and has quality of life (QOL) benefits for the children as well as their parents, suggests a study in Rehabilitation Oncology, official journal of the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

5 Jan 2017

New treatment prevents chemotherapy-induced hearing loss in children with cancer

Investigators from Children's Hospital Los Angeles and 37 other Children's Oncology Group hospitals in the U.S. and Canada have determined that sodium thiosulfate prevents cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children and adolescents with cancer.

2 Dec 2016

Study finds lack of improvement in health status of childhood cancer survivors

Long-term survivors of childhood cancer live longer thanks to improvements to cancer treatments, but a new study looking at three decades of therapy suggests patients do not report better health status.

8 Nov 2016

Cancer cell's shape may offer clues for precise prognosis

Doctors can sometimes use a cancer cell's genetics to predict how it will act - how dangerous it is and thus what treatments should be used against it.

20 Oct 2016

Novel microwave-induced photodynamic therapy could target deeply situated tumors

Physicists at The University of Texas at Arlington have shown that using microwaves to activate photosensitive nanoparticles produces tissue-heating effects that ultimately lead to cell death within solid tumors.

12 Oct 2016

Researchers find oldest evidence of cancer in 1.7 million-year-old fossil

An international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute and the South African Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences today announced in two papers, published in the South African Journal of Science, the discovery of the most ancient evidence for cancer and bony tumours yet described in the human fossil record.

28 Jul 2016