THE ESSENTIAL
- A bone protein, called Spp24, would fight against osteosarcoma.
- This inhibits the proliferation and invasiveness of osteosarcoma tumor cells and promotes their death.
- Ultimately, this discovery could lead to the development of new treatments for osteosarcoma.
About 100 to 150 new patients are affected by osteosarcoma each year in France, according to the cancer center Gustave Roussy. It is the most common malignant bone tumor or bone cancer – that is, tumors that start in the bone – in adolescents and young adults. Indeed, 70% of osteosarcoma cases affect patients aged 10 to 25 years.
Soon a treatment against osteosarcoma, a cancer that affects the youngest
The initial treatment of non-metastatic osteosarcoma, that is to say when the tumors remain localized in the area where they emerged, comprises three phases: preoperative chemotherapy, surgery which aims to remove the entire portion of the diseased bone initially and, finally, postoperative chemotherapy.
Metastatic osteosarcoma is the most serious form of this disease because it means that cancer cells have detached from the primary tumor and migrated to another part of the body. In this case, the treatment is the same as for non-metastatic osteosarcoma but with, in addition, either surgical removal of the metastatic areas or radiotherapy. However, this last option is not always possible because sometimes the affected regions are close to vital organs.
Bone protein kills osteosarcoma tumor cells
Researchers may have found a new treatment for osteosarcoma: a bone-derived protein called “Spp24” for “Secreted phosphoprotein 24 kD” in English. During their experiments, the scientists discovered that Spp24 has two main actions. The first is that this protein inhibits the proliferation and invasiveness of osteosarcoma tumor cells, the second is that it promotes their death.
In detail, Spp24 binds and neutralizes another protein present in the body which promotes the development and growth of tumors. “Like many other proteins (…), the more we examine the function of Spp24, the more surprising roles we discover, although the primary function of Spp24 remains unclear”, explains Haijun Tian, MD, PhD, one of the authors, in a communiqué.
A discovery that could eventually lead to the development of future treatments for osteosarcoma, a cancer that is still very dangerous. Indeed, in 10 to 20% of cases, metastases are present from diagnosis, according to the cancer center Gustave Roussy. These metastases are located for 85 to 90% of them in the lungs.
