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Review
. 2023 Mar 25;9(4):274.
doi: 10.3390/gels9040274.

The Use of Hydrogels for the Treatment of Bone Osteosarcoma via Localized Drug-Delivery and Tissue Regeneration: A Narrative Review

Shebin Tharakan  1 , Iman Raja  1 , Annette Pietraru  2 , Elina Sarecha  2 , Andrei Gresita  1 , Eugen Petcu  1 , Azhar Ilyas  3 , Michael Hadjiargyrou  2
Affiliations
Review

The Use of Hydrogels for the Treatment of Bone Osteosarcoma via Localized Drug-Delivery and Tissue Regeneration: A Narrative Review

Shebin Tharakan et al. Gels. .

Abstract

Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor of bone that leads to poor mortality and morbidity. Management of this cancer through conventional methods involves invasive treatment options that place patients at an increased risk of adverse events. The use of hydrogels to target osteosarcoma has shown promising results both in vitro and in vivo to eradicate tumor cells while promoting bone regeneration. The loading of hydrogels with chemotherapeutic drugs provides a route for site-specific targeted therapy for osteosarcoma. Current studies demonstrate tumor regression in vivo and lysis of tumor cells in vitro when exposed to doped hydrogel scaffolds. Additionally, novel stimuli-responsive hydrogels are able to react with the tissue microenvironment to facilitate the controlled release of anti-tumor drugs and with biomechanical properties that can be modulated. This narrative review of the current literature discusses both in vitro and in vivo studies of different hydrogels, including stimuli-responsive, designed to treat bone osteosarcoma. Future applications to address patient treatment for this bone cancer are also discussed.

Keywords: bone; drug-delivery; hydrogels; osteosarcoma; scaffold; tissue engineering.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Scaffold degradation over 60 days with and without elastase. (B) Biocompatibility was assessed through subcutaneous injection of the gel, followed by histological analysis. (C) Release of DTX and CA4 from the hydrogels over 48 days. Reprinted with permission from [82].
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Cell viability of MG-63 osteosarcoma cells when exposed to curcumin (Cur). (B) Cell viability of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts when exposed to Cur. (C) Live and dead images of MG-63 and MC3T3-E1 cells exposed to curcumin-loaded scaffolds (+) and without (−). * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Reprinted with permission from [94].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic overview of some preclinical studies on the use of non-hydrogel scaffolds for the treatment of osteosarcoma [99,103,109].
Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of literature search using PubMed.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Example schematic of hydrogel fabrication and site-specific incorporation to treat osteosarcoma. Hydrogels may be stimuli-responsive by self-regulation in response to pH, temperature, or mechanical stress. The hydrogels may also include properties that are pro-osteogenic while suppressing or even reducing tumor growth. This figure was generated using the Servier Medical Art. Servier Medical Art is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License [76].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic of hydrogel combination drug therapies, commonly administered to induce slow drug release and cancer cell death in osteosarcoma [81,82,84,92,93,94]. This figure was generated using the Servier Medical Art. Servier Medical Art is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License [76].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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