Finding effective treatments for osteosarcoma, the most common osteosarcoma in children and young adults, has puzzled medical researchers for 40 years.
Now, a new study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals shows some promising results.
This research BMC Medicine, Researchers have discovered that a specially designed immune cell therapy called OSM CAR-T successfully attacks osteosarcoma tumors in a mouse model.
According to the Osteosarcoma Institute, osteosarcoma occurs primarily in children, teens, and young adults during periods of rapid bone growth, and approximately 1,000 new cases are diagnosed each year nationwide.
The cause is unknown, but is apparently related to DNA changes in bone-forming cells and, in rare cases, genetics, according to the American Cancer Society.
Over the past 40 years, the traditional treatment of osteosarcoma, consisting of chemotherapy and surgery, has not changed much. Our new approach offers the potential for targeted treatments that harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, and may have fewer side effects and better outcomes than traditional chemotherapy. ”
Reshmi Parameswaran, principal investigator, associate professor of medicine, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, member of the Immuno-Oncology Program at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, and scientist in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Seidman University Cancer Center
CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T cell) therapy is an advanced treatment that reprograms a patient’s immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Although CAR-T has revolutionized the treatment of blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, it has proven much less effective against solid tumors such as osteosarcoma.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) notes that cancer cells in solid tumors are more complex and display a variety of markers on their surface, making it difficult for CAR-T cells to find and effectively attack all cancer cells.
But the researchers solved this problem by creating CAR-T cells that target receptors for a protein called oncostatin M (OSM), which appears on the surface of osteosarcoma cells. This is a new approach to treating osteosarcoma that allows engineered immune cells to simultaneously identify multiple receptors on cancer cells.
“OSM CAR-T cell therapy showed antitumor efficacy in all osteosarcoma patient samples tested,” Parameswaran said. “For osteosarcoma patients, tumor cells that spread to other organs in the body are a serious problem and become unresponsive to most existing treatments. OSM CAR-T cells are effective in killing tumor cells that have spread to other organs in mouse models, bringing hope to these patients.”
Case Western Reserve’s collaborative research environment and institutional support made this discovery possible. The University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and University Hospital provide the infrastructure, expertise and resources needed to develop innovative cancer immunotherapies.
The research team expects this treatment to be tested in clinical trials within two years. If successful, this treatment could offer a new option, reducing the need for surgery and offering hope to patients with metastatic disease.
sauce:
Case Western Reserve University
Reference magazines:
Feinberg, D. others. (2026). CAR-T therapy based on oncostatin M ligand exhibits potent antitumor activity against osteosarcoma. BMC Medicine. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-026-04729-8. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12916-026-04729-8
