July is Sarcoma and Bone Cancer Awareness Month
July is acknowledged as Bone Cancer and Sarcoma Awareness Month, focusing on increasing awareness about rare and challenging cancers affecting children and adolescents. Sarcoma is a type of cancer that originates in the bones and soft tissues. Soft tissues include muscle, fat, blood vessels, fibrous tissues such as tendons and ligament. More than 70 different subtypes of sarcomas have been reported. However, all sarcomas can be divided into two main groups: soft tissue sarcomas and bone cancers.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas is a rare type of cancer that originates from the growth of cells within the body´s soft tissue. More than 50 different soft tissue sarcomas have been reported (3 ) Soft tissue sarcoma can occur anywhere in the body, but it most frequently develops in arms, legs, and abdomen (4).
Osteosarcoma is the most prevalent type of bone cancer in children and adolescents with and incidence of around 4.4. cases per million children reported each year (1). Genomic alterations, particularly the inactivation of TP53 and RB, are present in most cases of osteosarcoma.
Ewing sarcoma is the second most common bone tumor occurring most frequently in teenagers, with a median age of 15 years. Ewing sarcomas is an aggressive tumor that develops usually in bone, but sometimes in soft tissue, most commonly affecting the lower extremity and pelvis. At diagnosis, up to 25% of patients , commonly found in the lung, bones, and bone marrow (2). This condition is biologically driven by a chromosomal translocation, typically involving the EWS and FLI1 genes.
July is Sarcoma and Bone Cancer Awareness Month
- 5 Things to Know About Bone Cancer and Sarcoma Awareness Month- link
Wnt Signalling molecules Sclerostin (SOST) and Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) in Sarcoma
SCLEROSTIN has been shown to be expressed in bone and cartilage forming skeletal tumors. Sclerostin is widely localized to areas in osteoblastic differentiation and ossification (5). In a study using an osteosarcoma mouse model, the administration of sclerostin resulted in inhibited tumor growth and extended survival periods (6).
DKK-1 is a wnt inhibitor that has been shown to partially improve osteosarcoma survival by upregulating aldehyde-dehydrogenase-1A1, neutralizing reactive oxygen species originating from nutritional stress and chemotherapeutic challenge (7). In a mouse model researches demonstrated the use of a DKK-1 targeting vivo morpholino that reduces tumour progression (7).
FGF23 in uterine sarcoma
Human FGF23 has been shown to be highly expressed in uterine sarcoma highlighting its potential as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease (8).
Sclerostin, DKK-1 and FGF23 can easily be measured in blood, urine and cell culture supernatants with an ELISA assay.
– Sclerostin ELISA (cat. no. BI-20492)
– DKK-1 ELISA (cat. no. BI-20413)
– FGF23 ELISAs (cat. no. BI-20700, BI-20702)
Literature
- Osteosarcoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer. Eaton BR, Schwarz R, Vatner R, Yeh B, Claude L, Indelicato DJ, Laack N. 2021 May;68 Suppl 2:e28352. doi: 10.1002/pbc.28352. Epub 2020 Aug 11. PMID: 32779875.
- Ewing sarcoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer. Eaton BR, Claude L, Indelicato DJ, Vatner R, Yeh B, Schwarz R, Laack N. 2021 May;68 Suppl 2:e28355. doi: 10.1002/pbc.28355. PMID: 33818887.
- More Than 50 Subtypes of Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Paving the Path for Histology-Driven Treatments. Katz D, Palmerini E, Pollack SM. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2018 May 23;38:925-938. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_205423. PMID: 30231352.
- Malignant Soft-Tissue Sarcomas. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. Brownstein JM, DeLaney TF. 2020 Feb;34(1):161-175. doi: 10.1016/j.hoc.2019.08.022. Epub 2019 Oct 28. PMID: 31739942.
- Sclerostin expression in skeletal sarcomas. Shen J, Meyers CA, Shrestha S, Singh A, LaChaud G, Nguyen V, Asatrian G, Federman N, Bernthal N, Eilber FC, Dry SM, Ting K, Soo C, James AW. Hum Pathol. 2016 Dec;58:24-34. doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2016.07.016. Epub 2016 Aug 3. PMID: 27498059; PMCID: PMC6560186.
- Antitumor Effect of Sclerostin against Osteosarcoma. Ideta H, Yoshida K, Okamoto M, Sasaki J, Kito M, Aoki K, Yoshimura Y, Suzuki S, Tanaka A, Takazawa A, Haniu H, Uemura T, Takizawa T, Sobajima A, Kamanaka T, Takahashi J, Kato H, Saito N. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Nov 29;13(23):6015. doi: 10.3390/cancers13236015. PMID: 34885123; PMCID: PMC8656567.
- Morpholino-driven blockade of Dkk-1 in osteosarcoma inhibits bone damage and tumour expansion by multiple mechanisms. Pan S, Cesarek M, Godoy C, Co CM, Schindler C, Padilla K, Haskell A, Barreda H, Story C, Poole R, Dabney A, Gregory CA. Br J Cancer. 2022 Jul;127(1):43-55. doi: 10.1038/s41416-022-01764-z. Epub 2022 Mar 11. PMID: 35277659; PMCID: PMC9276700.
- Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker in Uterine Sarcoma. Yang L, Cai Y, Wang Y, Huang Y, Zhang C, Ma H, Zhou JG. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2024 Jan-Dec;23:15330338241245924. doi: 10.1177/15330338241245924. PMID: 38613349; PMCID: PMC11015760.