Abstract
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant primary bone tumour in humans and dogs. Several studies have established the vital role of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) and its receptor (PTHR1) in bone formation and remodeling. In addition, these molecules play a role in the progression and metastasis of many human tumour types. This study investigated the expression of PTHR1 and PTHrP in canine OS tissues and assessed their prognostic value. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 50 dogs diagnosed with primary OS were immunolabeled with antibodies specific for PTHR1 and PTHrP. The immunostaining intensity of tumours from patients with OS was correlated with survival time. Both PTHR1 and PTHrP were detected in all OS samples (n = 50). Dogs with OS tumours showing high immunostaining intensity for PTHR1 (n = 36) had significantly shorter survival times (p = 0.028, Log Rank; p = 0.04, Cox regression) when compared with OS that had low immunostaining intensity for PTHR1 (n = 14).PTHrP immunostaining intensity did not correlate with survival time (p > 0.05). The results of this study indicate that increased expression of PTHR1 antigen in canine OS is associated with poor prognosis. This suggests that PTHR1 may be useful as a prognostic indicator in canine OS.
Highlights
Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignancy that originates from bone-forming mesenchymal cells[1]
Despite the current treatment consisting in surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, OS bears a poor prognosis[33]
PTHR1 and Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) have not been investigated as prognostic indicators in either canine or human OS and until now the presence of PTHR1 and PTHrP has not been investigated in naturally occurring canine OS
Summary
Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignancy that originates from bone-forming mesenchymal cells[1]. It is the most prevalent type of primary bone cancer in both humans and dogs[2,3,4,5]. In the last 35 years, there has been little improvement in the treatment of human OS or its prognosis after treatment with surgery and chemotherapy, especially for patients with metastatic OS8. Secretion of PTHrP by tumour cells may be involved in metastasis and in the regulation of primary breast tumour growth[26]
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