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Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Intratibial Osteosarcoma Cell Injection to Generate Orthotopic Osteosarcoma and Lung Metastasis Mouse Models
Published on: October 28, 2021
Improving Osteosarcoma Treatment: Comparative Oncology in Action
Lidia Tarone1, Katia Mareschi2,3, Elisa Tirtei2,3
1Molecular Biotechnology Center "Guido Tarone", Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Torino, Via Nizza 52, 10126 Torino, Italy.
Abstract:
Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common pediatric malignant bone tumor. Although surgery together with neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy has improved survival for localized OSA, most patients develop recurrent/metastatic disease with a dismally poor outcome. Therapeutic options have not improved for these OSA patients in recent decades. As OSA is a rare and "orphan" tumor, with no distinct targetable driver antigens, the development of new efficient therapies is still an unmet and challenging clinical need. Appropriate animal models are therefore critical for advancement in the field. Despite the undoubted relevance of pre-clinical mouse models in cancer research, they present some intrinsic limitations that may be responsible for the low translational success of novel therapies from the pre-clinical setting to the clinic. From this context emerges the concept of comparative oncology, which has spurred the study of pet dogs as a uniquely valuable model of spontaneous OSA that develops in an immune-competent system with high biological and clinical similarities to corresponding human tumors, including in its metastatic behavior and resistance to conventional therapies. For these reasons, the translational power of studies conducted on OSA-bearing dogs has seen increasing recognition. The most recent and relevant veterinary investigations of novel combinatorial approaches, with a focus on immune-based strategies, that can most likely benefit both canine and human OSA patients have been summarized in this commentary.
Insights
Osteosarcoma (OSA) research benefits from studying pet dogs, offering a valuable model for developing new therapies. Comparative oncology highlights canine osteosarcoma
Area of Science:
- Comparative oncology
- Veterinary medicine
- Translational cancer research
Background:
- Osteosarcoma (OSA) is a common pediatric bone cancer with poor outcomes for recurrent/metastatic disease.
- Current therapies offer limited improvement for advanced OSA, necessitating novel treatment strategies.
- Pre-clinical mouse models have limitations in translating findings to human clinical success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent veterinary research on novel therapeutic strategies for osteosarcoma.
- To highlight the value of pet dogs as a comparative oncology model for OSA.
- To focus on immune-based combinatorial approaches for canine and human OSA patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent veterinary investigations on osteosarcoma treatment.
- Analysis of comparative oncology principles using pet dogs as a model.
- Focus on immune-based and combinatorial therapeutic strategies.
Main Results:
- Pet dogs develop spontaneous osteosarcoma with biological and clinical similarities to human tumors.
- Canine osteosarcoma models exhibit metastatic behavior and resistance to conventional therapies, mirroring human disease.
- Veterinary studies are increasingly recognized for their translational power in OSA research.
Conclusions:
- Canine osteosarcoma models are crucial for advancing the field due to their immune-competence and disease similarity to humans.
- Novel combinatorial and immune-based therapies studied in dogs hold promise for both veterinary and human OSA patients.
- Comparative oncology offers a valuable platform for addressing unmet clinical needs in osteosarcoma treatment.
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