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Aptamers in Osteosarcoma: New Paths for Diagnosis and Treatment
Guy Awad1, Marc Boutros1, Antoine Chartouni1
1Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Introduction:
Osteosarcoma remains the most common primary malignant bone tumor, with poor outcomes in metastatic or recurrent cases. Current treatments often fail to prevent relapse, highlighting the need for innovative therapeutic strategies. Aptamers, short and single-stranded oligonucleotides capable of folding into three-dimensional shapes, have emerged as promising tools for targeted cancer diagnostics and therapy due to their high affinity, specificity, and modifiability.
Methods:
A structured search was conducted through PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar up to March 2025, focusing on peer-reviewed articles exploring the use of aptamers in osteosarcoma. A total of 158 studies were included, highlighting aptamer applications in tumor diagnosis, pathway targeting, and precision drug delivery.
Results:
Aptamers demonstrated significant potential in osteosarcoma research, notably in identifying tumorigenesis pathways, enhancing diagnostic accuracy through ELISA and biosensors, and improving targeted drug delivery. SELEX-derived aptamers effectively targeted molecules such as CD133, EGFR, VEGFA, and FGFR1, leading to enhanced cytotoxicity, reduced off-target effects, and greater specificity for osteosarcoma cells and cancer stem cells. The integration of aptamers with nanoparticles further optimized therapeutic delivery, highlighting their capability to enhance precision medicine in osteosarcoma.
Discussion:
Aptamers offer clear benefits over traditional osteosarcoma treatments. Their strong binding affinity to cancer cells, low risk of immune reactions, and flexible chemical modifications make them powerful tools for diagnosis and therapy, especially when combined with nanoparticle delivery systems.
Conclusion:
Aptamers represent a promising class of targeted agents for osteosarcoma. Future research should prioritize optimizing delivery strategies and validating clinical efficacy to accelerate their integration into clinical practice.
Insights
Aptamers show great promise for treating osteosarcoma, offering improved diagnosis and targeted drug delivery. These DNA or RNA molecules enhance precision medicine, overcoming limitations of current osteosarcoma therapies.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Osteosarcoma is a primary bone cancer with poor prognosis in advanced stages.
- Existing treatments struggle to prevent relapse, necessitating novel therapeutic approaches.
- Aptamers offer high specificity and affinity for targeted cancer diagnostics and therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the applications of aptamers in osteosarcoma research.
- To evaluate aptamers' potential in diagnosis, targeted therapy, and drug delivery for osteosarcoma.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar up to March 2025.
- Inclusion of 158 peer-reviewed studies on aptamer use in osteosarcoma.
- Analysis of aptamer applications in diagnostics, pathway targeting, and drug delivery.
Main Results:
- Aptamers enhance osteosarcoma diagnosis via biosensors and ELISA.
- SELEX-derived aptamers target key molecules (e.g., CD133, EGFR, VEGFA) for increased cytotoxicity.
- Aptamer-nanoparticle conjugates improve targeted drug delivery and precision medicine.
Conclusions:
- Aptamers provide superior diagnostic and therapeutic benefits for osteosarcoma compared to traditional methods.
- Their low immunogenicity and modifiability support their role in precision oncology.
- Further research on delivery optimization and clinical validation is crucial for clinical translation.
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