Current Research

Research for osteosarcoma is ongoing. The following advances may still be under investigation in clinical trials and may not be approved or available at this time. Always discuss all diagnostic and treatment options with your child’s doctor.

Improved detection. Two techniques are being studied that may improve the detection of metastases. The first is total body MRI, and the second is positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. A PET scan is a way to create pictures of organs and tissues inside the body. A small amount of a radioactive substance is injected into a patient’s body and absorbed by the organs or tissues being studied. This substance gives off energy that is detected by a scanner, which produces the images.

Both techniques are imaging techniques, which can suggest but not prove the presence of metastatic disease. Specialists familiar with their use must interpret the results of the images. A biopsy may also be required to prove or disprove the presence of metastatic disease.

Improved treatment. In several studies, researchers are examining the addition of different drugs to standard treatment that may improve the treatment outcome without increasing the side effects.

In one study (Children’s Oncology Group study AOST 0331), pegylated interferon alpha is added after eight months of chemotherapy for patients with localized osteosarcoma or metastases to the lungs or bones that can be surgically removed, and whose tumor was almost completely eliminated by the initial treatment. Two drugs (ifosfamide and etoposide) are added to treatment after surgery for 10 months instead of the standard eight months for patients with tumors that did not respond as well to initial treatment.

In another study (Children’s Oncology Group study AOST 0221) for patients with osteosarcoma that has recurred in the lungs only, researchers are evaluating a new way to give an immune system stimulant called GM-CSF, by inhalation, to slow the development of other osteosarcoma tumors in the lungs. This study has been completed, and the results should be available in the near future.

Researchers (Children’s Oncology Group study AOST 0121) are also studying the addition of trastuzumab (Herceptin) to standard chemotherapy for patients with metastatic osteosarcoma whose tumors have a certain substance called HER2 or erbB-2. This study has been completed and the results are being analyzed. Another study for similar patients with metastatic disease is underway (AOST06P1). It includes a bone-stabilizing drug called zoledronic acid (Zometa) added to standard chemotherapy. A French group is also studying zoledronic acid for newly diagnosed patients with osteosarcoma.

For information on these studies, visit the Children’s Oncology Group website. There are also clinical trials using new drugs for patients with osteosarcoma whose disease has recurred a second time, whose disease has recurred in other places in addition to the lungs, or whose disease has recurred outside of the lungs.

Talk with your doctor for more information on clinical trials. Your doctor can provide additional details concerning the availability of these diagnostic tests or treatments, or others that are being studied. Also, your doctor can provide details on whether they are appropriate for your child.