cancers-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Osteosarcoma: Individualized Precision Treatment and Effective Drug Discovery

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Drug Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 209

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Interests: osteosarcoma; bone cancer; tumor microenvironment; tumor acidosis; lipid metabolism; targeted therapies; precision medicine; microfluidics; 3D tumor models

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Osteosarcoma is a highly aggressive cancer of mesenchymal origin that develops in bone. Despite decades of research, the survival rates for patients with osteosarcoma have remained largely unchanged. While surgery and conventional therapies remain the cornerstone of treatment, they offer limited benefits for patients with metastatic disease. This underscores the urgent need for innovative therapies to improve survival rates and reduce metastatic spread.

This Special Issue seeks to explore the latest advancements and future directions in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying bone and soft tissue sarcomas. By delving into the molecular landscape of these tumors, we aim to highlight novel therapeutic strategies and their potential to transform the treatment of these challenging diseases.

Recent years have witnessed remarkable progress in targeted therapies and drug discovery for osteosarcoma. Advances in the molecular characterization of the disease have unveiled promising new targets and treatment avenues.

In this Special Issue, we bring together cutting-edge research and insights to summarize recent breakthroughs in precision medicine and innovative drug discovery for osteosarcoma, offering hope for improved patient outcomes and a brighter future in the fight against this formidable malignancy.

Dr. Margherita Cortini
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • osteosarcoma
  • bone cancer
  • tumor microenvironment
  • targeted therapies
  • precision medicine
  • 3D tumor models
  • drug screening

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

24 pages, 3626 KB  
Review
The Unfolded Protein Response in Sarcomas: From Proteostasis to Therapy Resistance
by Elizabeta Ilieva, Sofia Avnet, Nicola Baldini and Margherita Cortini
Cancers 2025, 17(21), 3489; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17213489 - 30 Oct 2025
Viewed by 33
Abstract
Sarcomas are a rare and heterogeneous group of malignant tumors that pose significant clinical challenges, including delayed diagnosis, therapeutic resistance, and lack of reliable biomarkers. Despite advances in surgery and chemotherapy, effective treatment options for advanced disease remain limited, underscoring the urgent need [...] Read more.
Sarcomas are a rare and heterogeneous group of malignant tumors that pose significant clinical challenges, including delayed diagnosis, therapeutic resistance, and lack of reliable biomarkers. Despite advances in surgery and chemotherapy, effective treatment options for advanced disease remain limited, underscoring the urgent need to identify novel therapeutic vulnerabilities. The unfolded protein response (UPR), a conserved cellular stress pathway that maintains proteostasis under conditions of endoplasmic reticulum stress, has emerged as a critical modulator of cancer cell fate. By regulating protein folding, redox balance, and survival pathways, the UPR exerts a dual role in tumor biology, supporting tumor growth under stress while triggering apoptosis when stress becomes sustained or severe. In sarcomas, accumulating evidence indicates that UPR activation contributes to metabolic adaptation, angiogenesis, immune evasion, and chemoresistance. Drawing on the current literature encompassing preclinical models, recent translational research (PubMed from 2000 to 2025), and registered clinical trials, this narrative review synthesizes current knowledge on the multifaceted role of the UPR in sarcoma pathogenesis, with a particular focus on osteosarcoma. Furthermore, it explores the feasibility of UPR-targeted strategies as adjuvant or combinatorial approaches. In conclusion, this review provides an integrated and in-depth analysis of UPR-mediated mechanisms in sarcomas, offering perspectives on how targeting this pathway could accelerate the development of more effective and personalized treatments. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop