Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare primary malignant bone cancer affecting mainly young individuals. Common treatment typically consists of chemotherapy and surgical tumor resection, which has undergone few improvements since the 1970s. Thus, the development of advanced in vitro platforms that closely mimic the OS pathophysiology is crucial to understand tumor progression and develop novel effective anticancer therapeutics.

In a review paper just published in Advanced Therapeutics, SCERG-iBB researchers Margarida Domingues, João Carlos Silva and Paola Sanjuan-Alberte provide a comprehensive overview of the most recent strategies that have been employed to develop 3D in vitro models of OS. The authors discussed in detail the bioengineering approaches using biomimetic scaffolds aiming to improve the biomimicry of the OS microenvironment, emphasizing the crucial role that innovative biomanufacturing techniques, such as electrospinning, microfluidics and 3D bioprinting can play in this research field. This study was supported by the FCT projects “InSilico4OCReg” (PTDC/EME-SIS/0838/2021) and “eOnco” (2022.07252.PTDC), and by “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) LCF/BQ/PI22/11910025. See more.