The applications of 3D printing technology in health care, particularly orthopedics, continue to broaden as the technology becomes more advanced, accessible, and affordable worldwide. 3D printed models of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans can reproduce a replica of anatomical parts that enable surgeons to get a detailed understanding of the underlying anatomy that he/she experiences intraoperatively. The 3D printed anatomic models are particularly useful for preoperative planning, simulation of complex orthopedic procedures, development of patient-specific instruments, and implants that can be used intraoperatively. This paper reviews the role of 3D printing technology in orthopedic surgery, specifically focusing on the role it plays in assisting surgeons to have a better preoperative evaluation and surgical planning.

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We have shown that a TNFα gene polymorphism, rs1800629, is highly significantly associated with postmenopausal osteoporosis and BMD in the female Han Chinese population. Additional sequencing-based studies are needed to investigate the genetic architecture of this genomic region and its relationship with osteoporosis-related phenotypes.

Abstract. The association of TRIM29 overexpression with cancer progression and poor clinical prognosis has been reported in the context of several types of cancers. In the present study, we investigated the prognostic relevance of TRIM29 and its involvement in the progression of human osteosarcoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a major role of TRIM29 in osteosarcoma. Our results showed that the expression of TRIM29 in osteosarcoma tissues was much higher than that in normal bone tissues. Furthermore, TRIM29 expression was significantly correlated with tumor size, recurrence, metastasis and overall survival time. High expression of TRIM29 and presence of metastasis were independent predictors of poor prognosis in these patients. Both protein and mRNA expression of TRIM29 in osteosarcoma cell lines were significantly higher than those in osteoblast cell line, hFOB1.19. Moreover, the results indicated that TRIM29 promoted migration and invasive growth of osteosarcoma cells by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Therefore, ectopic expression of TRIM29 potentially contributes to metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma. In summary, TRIM29 is a potential prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target for patients with osteosarcoma.

Previous studies have linked the WNT pathway and human skeleton formation; therefore, genes related to WNT might contribute to the onset and development of osteoporosis. In this study, we investigated the potential genetic association of WLS, which encodes an important mediator in the WNT pathway, with osteoporosis and its related quantitative traits in a sample of 6,620 individuals from Han Chinese population. A two-stage approach, with a discovery stage with 859 cases and 1,690 controls and a validation stage with 1,039 cases and 3,032 controls, was applied in the study. Forty SNPs were genotyped in the discovery stage. The intronic SNP rs2566752 was identified to be significantly associated with osteoporosis (ORdiscovery = 0.78, P discovery = 3.73 × 10−5; ORvalidation = 0.80, P validation = 1.96 × 10−5). Two SNPs surrounding rs2566752 (in addition to this SNP itself) were identified to be associated with bone mineral density. In addition, we have identified a 20 kb peak region of H3K27Ac histone mark enrichment between rs2772304 and rs2566752. Our study suggested that WLS is an important locus for osteoporosis and its related quantitative phenotypes in Han Chinese population. Additional sequencing-based studies are needed to investigate the genetic architecture of this regulatory region and its relationship with osteoporosis-related phenotypes.