Italians in bone cancer advance
Children with Ewing sarcoma may have new hope
08 March, 20:30
(ANSA) - Bologna, March 8 - Italian scientists have made an advance that might pave the way for new treatments for a bone cancer found in children.
Six researchers at the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute in Bologna have established that if a way is found to remove a cell protein called CD99, it could stop Ewing sarcoma, the second most common paediatric bone cancer, from becoming malignant.
The Bologna team made the discovery, set for publication in the March edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, after four years' work with a US team based in Utah and the National Tumour Institute in Milan.
"It must be said with clarity that we are not looking at the immediate possibility of new treatment for patients. But we are at a turning point," said Rizzoli Molecular Therapy Development chief Katia Scotlandi.
"For the first time we know where to look to understand the origin of Ewing sarcoma and how it evolves".
"Interfering with the action of the CD99 protein could represent a new therapeutic strategy," she said.
Five-year survival for localized Ewing sarcoma is 70% to 80% when treated with chemotherapy.
Long-term survival after metastasis can be less than 10% but some sources state it is 25-30%
