Systematic Evaluation of Drug-Loaded Hydrogels for Application in Osteosarcoma Treatment

Abstract

This is a literature review of studies focusing on the preparation of hydrogels for use as oncological drug delivery systems in the treatment of osteosarcoma (OS). The databases of the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Embase, OVID, and Cochrane Library, and the references of retrieved studies, were traced from 1843 to December 21, 2015, without language restrictions. The obtained data were evaluated by complementary statistical methods. Potentially relevant studies were found and included in the analysis. OS-specific chemotherapeutic agents can be successfully embedded within the hydrogels and these drug-loaded hydrogels can be applied locally, rather than systemically, without organ tissue toxicity. Further, OS-specific drug-loaded hydrogels significantly increased tumor inhibition and decreased osteolysis and lung metastases. Drug-loaded hydrogels could be useful in the treatment of OS, although their development remains at the experimental phase. Following evaluation of their application in surgery and the completion of drug release kinetics studies, drug-loaded hydrogels could be tested on living mammals in large samples with the aim of applying these in clinical settings. In the future, development of such drug delivery systems and application of targeted approaches against osteosarcoma and other malignancies may render surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy unnecessary.

Are We Using Slow-Acting Symptomatic Chondroprotective Drugs Conscious Enough?

“…Studies by Lijmer et al [11, 12] were used to determine the proof level of the studies. All bibliographies were also reviewed and reference lists were re-evaluated to find appropriate articles.…”

Understanding and Modeling Metastasis Biology to Improve Therapeutic Strategies for Combating Osteosarcoma Progression

“…Increasing sophistication of hydrogel-based models can be achieved through a combination of chemical engineering and biologic layering, including the construction of soluble mediator (growth factors, chemokines, peptidyl signaling molecules) gradients or combinatorial co-culturing of cancer cells with stromal cells including endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells. While hydrogels have been explored as a controlled drug release scaffold strategies for OS therapy (156)(157)(158), the study 3D scaffold tumor models for unraveling OS biology and metastasis remains limited, with some investigations describing differences in behavioral phenotype of malignant OS cells compared to non-transformed osteoblasts based upon matrix rigidity and elasticity (159,160). In addition to hydrogel scaffolds, chitosan, silk, and synthetic polymers have served as adhesive constructs for 3D OS modeling and have illuminated mechanisms behind viral permissiveness (161), hypoxia-induced angiogenic mediator secretions (162), drug resistance (163), and maintenance of stem cell phenotype (164).…”

Is there a treatment protocol in which platelet-rich plasma is effective?

“…The percentage distribution of articles by year was recorded, and the evidence level was determined according to Lijmer et al 23,24 Bibliographies thought to be missed during the database research were examined again. Unpublished grey literature, including articles, comments, letters, editorials, protocols, guides, meta-analyses and collections were not included.…”

“…Nevertheless, it is important for such data to be compiled and compared. 24 The studies included in the present review did not provide common data and therefore homogeneity or heterogeneity tests could not be performed. As a result of this study, it can be concluded that the hypothesis that there is only one real underlying effect that to be predicted cannot be justified statistically.…”