Treatment for osteosarcoma usually involves both surgery and chemotherapy, which collectively aim to remove the tumour and kill any remaining cancer cells. However, in some cases, these cells travel from the original (primary) tumour to other, distant parts of the body, most commonly the lungs. This process is known as metastasis.
For patients with metastatic osteosarcoma, treatment is challenging and their chances of survival are much lower. Research to understand the process of metastasis and how this can be targeted and prevented is therefore crucial.
Thanks to a collaboration between the Bone Cancer Research Trust and the Children and Young People's Cancer Association (CCLG), a pilot project looking to address this unmet need has been awarded joint funding. By coming together, the two charities are driving forwards early, explorative research in the hopes of paving the way towards future advancements.
What are the aims of this research project?
This pilot project, led by Dr Olivier Pardo at Imperial College London, aims to investigate the processes supporting the survival of osteosarcoma cells which escape into the bloodstream and spread elsewhere in the body.
Dr Pardo and his team will use an innovative engineering device which mimics the conditions these so called ‘circulating tumour cells’ (CTCs) face as they journey through the blood vessels, investigating the changes they undergo in order to survive. They will perform in-depth analyses to compare ‘stationary’ osteosarcoma cells in the primary tumour with these CTCs, looking to identify any crucial adaptations which could represent a target for treatment.
How could this project improve treatment options for osteosarcoma patients?
With so little understood about the journey osteosarcoma cells take through the bloodstream and how they are able to survive, it is difficult to know how to target and prevent this. This research represents a vital first step towards the development of targeted treatment approaches, which are so urgently needed.
Following on from this project, Dr Pardo and team plan to test different combinations of drugs to investigate their ability to prevent the survival adaptations identified in the CTCs, in the hopes of translating their laboratory research into a future treatment option for patients.
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