Recent advances in hydrogels-based osteosarcoma therapy

Abstract

Osteosarcoma (OS), as a typical kind of bone tumors, has a high incidence among adolescents. Traditional tumor eradication avenues for OS such as chemotherapy, surgical therapy and radiation therapy usually have their own drawbacks including recurrence and metastasis. In addition, another serious issue in the treatment of OS is bone repair because the bone after tumor invasion usually has difficulty in repairing itself. Hydrogels, as a synthetic or natural platform with a porous three-dimensional structure, can be applied as desirable platforms for OS treatment. They can not only be used as carriers for tumor therapeutic drugs but mimic the extracellular matrix for the growth and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), thus providing tumor treatment and enhancing bone regeneration at the same time. This review focuses the application of hydrogels in OS suppression and bone regeneration, and give some suggests on future development.

The Use of Hydrogels for the Treatment of Bone Osteosarcoma via Localized Drug-Delivery and Tissue Regeneration: A Narrative Review

“…The use of hydrogels as a repository for drug delivery is an approach that has gained attention in the last decade as it proves to be an effective targeted therapy for localized pathology [ 77 , 79 ]. Additionally, hydrogels have the capability of being integrated with other drug delivery systems, such as liposomes or microspheres, which synergistically allows for better performance [ 80 ]. For example, Wu et al (2018), photo crosslinked gemcitabine (GEM) hydrochloride loaded liposomes with a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel to test its efficacy for osteosarcoma ablation [ 81 ].…”

“…Some of the biggest challenges for osteosarcoma treatment are chemoresistance and metastasis prevention [ 124 ]. Studies have shown that hydrogels can treat tumors due to their biocompatibility and porous structures [ 80 ]. Hydrogels can be loaded with tumor therapy drugs that can be inserted intravenously to replace systemic chemotherapy.…”

Enhancing anti-tumor potential: low-intensity vibration suppresses osteosarcoma progression and augments MSCs' tumor-suppressive abilities

“…The standard chemotherapeutic regimen, known as MAP therapy, encompasses methotrexate, doxorubicin, and cisplatin 4 . Notably, metastasis most commonly occurs within the lung parenchyma, significantly impacting clinical outcomes in a negative manner 5 . Presently, the effectiveness of targeted medications remains limited due to the marked heterogeneity of OS 6 .…”

Advances in Osteosarcoma

“…OS cells grow in a permissive local microenvironment which modulates their behavior and facilitates all steps in tumor development (e.g., proliferation/quiescence, invasion/migration, drug resistance) [ 4 , 13 – 15 ] and contributes to their intrinsic heterogeneity [ 16 , 17 ••]. The lung parenchyma is the most common metastatic site in OS, and metastatic foci are frequently associated with a poor clinical outcome [ 7 , 9 , 18 ].…”

“…The conventional treatment for OS is based on a sequential approach that combines chemotherapy and surgery [ 4 ]. Due to the particular radioresistance of OS, radiotherapy is only proposed for tumors in high-risk locations, or to reduce the risk of recurrence after surgery [ 7 – 9 , 18 – 20 ]. Despite the increase in clinical trials in the last 4 decades, cure rates for OS have not improved.…”