Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
Establishment of Cancer Stem Cell Cultures from Human Conventional Osteosarcoma
Published on: October 14, 2016
Suboptimal chemotherapy is an adverse prognostic factor in osteosarcoma
Bicheng Yong1, Pingxian Tan, Junqiang Yin
1Musculoskeletal Oncology Department, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Background:
We sought to determine whether suboptimal chemotherapy compromised the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients.
Methods:
A total of 132 eligible patients who underwent chemotherapy between 1998 and 2008 were identified in our database. Information regarding patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and survival status were extracted for analysis. Optimal chemotherapy was defined as receipt of ≥80% of the planned dose intensity of prescribed agents within the planned durations.
Results:
The use of optimal chemotherapy resulted in an overall survival benefit with P = 0.006. Patients who failed to complete the optimal chemotherapy protocol had a dismal prognosis of 30.8% overall survival over five years, whereas those who completed the optimal chemotherapy had an overall survival rate over five years of 65.3%. Based on multivariate analysis, patients who were treated with a suboptimal protocol had a higher risk of relapse, metastasis and mortality. The hazard ratio (HR) of recurrence or death for the suboptimal chemotherapy group was as high as 2.512 over that of the optimal chemotherapy group (HR = 2.512, 95% confidence interval = 1.242 to 3.729).
Conclusions:
Chemotherapy is a significant independent prognostic variable, and suboptimal chemotherapy was found to have a detrimental effect on the outcome of patients with osteosarcoma.
Related Concept Videos
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
02:50Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
01:21Cancer Survival Analysis
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...