A mouse model to examine human osteosarcoma therapeutic options

Osteosarcoma, while relatively rare in humans (about 1000 cases per year in the U.S.), represents a continuing challenge to oncologists. Current chemotherapy regimens have a 60-70% five year survival rate. Thus, there is a need for more effective, less toxic therapies. We have extensively characterized a mouse osteosarcoma model to test therapies that may be transferable to human osteosarcomas. In this application, we propose a “proof of principle” experiment to show that downregulating the CSF-1 receptor (highly upregulated in mouse and human osteosarcomas) by siRNA and small molecule inhibitor approaches will result in significant inhibition of osteosarcoma growth in vivo.