Kazuhiko Matsuoka, PhD Medical University of Vienna Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common form of aggressive bone cancer. A MedUni Vienna study, led by geneticist Erwin Wagner, has uncovered new insights into the disease mechanisms of OS, paving the way for potential new diagnostic and treatment strategies for fighting the bone disease.

The most prevalent type of aggressive bone cancer is osteosarcoma (OS). New insights into the disease mechanisms of OS have been discovered in a MedUni Vienna study led by geneticist Erwin Wagner, paving the way for future new diagnosis and treatment methods for combating bone disease. The paper has just been published in Cell Research, a high-impact journal.

Normal osteosarcoma procedures include surgery for amputation and chemotherapy. While they are effective, they have a serious impact on the quality of life of patients. Patients with metastases and/or with surgical cancer have a very poor prognosis with a survival rate of around 20%. There is an urgent need for new clinical techniques to develop treatment approaches and prognoses — a problem which researchers have faced for over three decades.

The purpose is to create novel therapies directed at the underlying mechanisms of OS disease. The discovery of molecular diagnostic markers for early detection of relapse or metastasis is a big part of this, which will also lead to the production of new, more successful treatments.

The research used a number of models, including a genetically modified mouse model, mouse and human OS cell transplantation systems, and patient OS samples. The group of researchers from the Department of Dermatology and Laboratory Medicine at MedUni Vienna has discovered a biological mechanism in which high expression of the Fos / AP-1 transcription factor regulates the expression of a collagen-modifying matrix enzyme called LOXL2, through Wnt signaling.

In order to investigate the effects of Fos and LOXL2 on OS development, the researchers also carried out a series of experiments. "The results of this research strengthen our understanding of osteosarcoma disease mechanisms and pave the way for possible new diagnosis and treatment methods to combat this debilitating bone disease," said Kazuhiko Matsuoka, lead author of the research.