Progress in the chemotherapeutic treatment of osteosarcoma (Review)

Abstract

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common type of primary bone tumor in children and adolescents and has been associated with a high degree of malignancy, early metastasis, rapid progression and poor prognosis. However, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy improves the prognosis of patients with OS. OS chemotherapy is based primarily on the use of adriamycin, cisplatin (DDP), methotrexate (MTX), ifosfamide (IFO), epirubicin (EPI) and other drugs. Previous studies have revealed that the survival rate for patients with OS appears to have plateaued: 5-year survival rates remain close to 60%, even with the use of combined chemotherapy. The most limiting factors include complications and fatal toxicity associated with chemotherapy agents, particularly high-dose MTX (HD-MTX), for which high toxicity and great individual variation in responses have been observed. Docetaxel (TXT) is a representative member of the relatively recently developed taxane class of drugs, which function to inhibit OS cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. Recently, more clinical studies have reported that TXT combined with gemcitabine (GEM) is effective in the treatment of OS (relapse/refractory and progressive), providing evidence in support of potential novel treatment strategies for this patient population. However, there is still no global consensus on this type of chemotherapy approach. The present review summarizes current studies surrounding progress in the chemotherapeutic treatment of OS and discusses the advantages and potential feasibility of TXT+GEM in the treatment of OS.

Osteosarcoma of the Skull: An Unusual Presentation in the Left Parietal-Occipital Region

“…[10] Chemotherapy such as Adriamycin, cisplatin, methotrexate, ifosfamide, and epirubicin have been widely used for the treatment of osteosarcomas. [11] In our case, the patient was treated with adjuvant Adriamycin and cisplatin. The diagnosis of osteosarcoma of the skull is based on the correlation of clinical, radiological, and histologic features as done in our case.…”

Metastasis‑associated gene MAPK15 promotes the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells via the c‑Jun/MMPs pathway

“…OS is the most common primary malignant tumor in the skeletal system with strong characteristics of invasion, metastasis and recurrence. Current clinical treatments are not effective for patients with OS-associated metastasis and recurrence, thus the prognosis of patients with end-stage OS with metastasis has not improved (28). In addition, epidemiological studies have shown that metastasis is the leading cause of death in patients with OS (29).…”

Long Noncoding RNAs in Osteosarcoma: Mechanisms and Potential Clinical Implications

“…Lung cancer associated transcript 1 (LUCAT1) lncRNA has been found to be overexpressed in osteosarcoma tissue samples and in MG63 and HOX osteosarcoma cell lines resistant to methotrexate, a drug that is used widely in osteosarcoma patients [233][234][235]. MG63 and HOX, resistant to methotrexate, also overexpress the ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1), a drug resistance-related protein.…”

“…Treating osteosarcoma is a challenge in the practice of oncology. The main therapeutic approach is surgical removal of the tumor following by the application of chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin, cisplatin, methotrexate in combination with leucovorin (folinic acid), and ifosfamide [13,233]. This multimodal osteosarcoma management increased the progression-free survival rates from 10 to 20% up to 60% in recent years.…”