MIB Agents OsteoBites and osTEAo

Chris Thomson, DVM, DACVS-SA from Ethos Veterinary Health will discuss the Minimally Invasive Metastasectomy in Canines (MIMIC) clinical trial which will assess the feasibility and tolerability of VATS for lung metastasis and eventually deliver this care as an outpatient procedure. In addition to assessing the therapeutic benefit in canine patients, the study will also pave the way to conduct accelerated studies to identify new drugs to prevent lung metastases in both human and canine osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma Webinar Series: Alexander Davies, DVM, PhD joins us on OsteoBites to discuss his work which is focused on dynamic tumor-microenvironment signaling cross-talk, signal integration, and the development of 3D organotypic and tissue models to study these interactions using live-cell microscopy techniques.

Results from studies in the Davies Lab demonstrate the utility of a novel dynamic live-cell tissue model, the lungSITE model, to quantitatively measure and understand tumor signaling dynamics and behaviors within the context of the lung metastatic niche. Data obtained from this model provided new insights into how spatial position and temporal response influence signaling dynamics, specifically in osteosarcoma lung metastasis, to create intratumoral signaling heterogeneity and consequent single-cell drug response variation.

Dr. Alexander Davies graduated with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a D.V.M., with an interest in comparative oncology, from the University of California, Davis. He then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in cancer biology at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before joining The Ohio State University as faculty in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences. While at OSU he was a member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and faculty in the Cancer Biology and Cancer Engineering programs. Currently, Dr. Davies is an Assistant Professor at the Knight Cancer Institute within the Division of Oncological Sciences and Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center (CEDAR) where his work focuses on dynamic tumor-microenvironment signaling cross-talk, signal integration, and the development of 3D organotypic and tissue models to study these interactions using live-cell microscopy techniques.

Join hosts Mia and Sammy on the latest episode of osTEAo, where they dive deep into the challenges of navigating life with cancer fatigue. In "Cancer Fatigue: How to Escape the Cancerverse," they are joined by OsteoWarriors Sloane and Matthew to explore the emotional and physical toll of living in the "Cancerverse" and to share personal stories of how they find moments of normalcy amidst the chaos. From the importance of a strong support system to the little joys that help them momentarily forget their battles, this episode is a heartfelt conversation on resilience, connection, and finding light in the darkest times. Whether you're a patient, survivor, caregiver, or supporter, this episode offers insights and encouragement for anyone touched by cancer. Tune in for an honest, uplifting discussion and, as always, the latest hot goss from the osteosarcoma AYA community. Don't forget to follow MIB Agents on social media for updates and support.

Thank you to the Moore Family for their generous support of our osTEAo podcast and creating a space for young adults experiencing cancer to share, relate, and heal together.

More info on patient advocacy opportunities discussed in this episode

Apply for the MIB Agents 2025 Junior Advisory Board! Applications are due at 11:59 PM EST on January 20th, 2025. https://forms.gle/hTCqKuPLHkntBw1U6

Share your story with our congressmen and women to advocate for several key policy issues that impact children with cancer. Join MIB Agents for Childhood Cancer Action Days on Capitol Hill, February 27-28th. Email [email protected] for more information.

Dr. Damon Reed joins us on OsteoBites to discuss the vision for research on bone tumors from the Children's Oncology Group (COG) Bone Tumor Committee.

Damon Reed, MD is the inaugural Head of the Division of Pediatric Solid Tumors and Chief of the Pediatric Sarcoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Reed founded the Sunshine Project, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s pediatric phase 1 clinical trial consortium. This collaborative venture unites the nation’s top doctors and researchers to find a faster cure for pediatric cancer. In addition, he holds leadership roles in multiple collaborative groups, including Vice Chair of the Bone Tumor Committee for the Children’s Oncology Group and President of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society.

Osteosarcoma Webinar Series: Chelsey Burke, MD, a physician-scientist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and an OutSmarting Osteosarcoma Young Investigator 2024 grant recipient, shares findings from her work studying the evolution of osteosarcoma tumors. At present, we have a limited understanding of how osteosarcoma tumors change with conventional treatment and go on to develop drug resistance. Dr. Burke discusses the use of mouse models to investigate osteosarcoma tumor evolution and identify emerging resistance mechanisms that can be therapeutically targeted.Chelsey Burke, MD is an assistant attending and young investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. After graduating from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in biology, Dr. Burke obtained her medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine. Following pediatric residency at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where she served as pediatric chief resident, she joined the combined Memorial Sloan Kettering and New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell pediatric hematology and oncology fellowship program. During fellowship, Dr. Burke joined the laboratory of Dr. Filemon Dela Cruz and Dr. Andrew Kung where her research focuses on pediatric cancer modeling and preclinical drug development. Dr. Burke has a particular interest in bone sarcomas, including osteosarcoma, and is involved in the preclinical evaluation of several novel therapeutics. She hopes this work can be translated into early phase clinical trials and, ultimately, improve outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults with high-risk sarcomas.

One of our MIB Agents OutSmarting Osteosarcoma 2024 grant recipients, Dr. Chris Richards, an Associate Professor from the University of Kentucky provides an overview of his funded work on macrophage engineered vesicles to treat pediatric osteosarcoma. This presentation focuses on the development of nanoscale vesicles derived from immune cells that can be utilized as immunomodulatory and therapeutic delivery platforms.

Dr. Richards is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky where he also serves as the Director of the Light Microscopy Facility and the Director of the Bioelectronics and Nanomedicine Center. His lab has developed novel nanoscale biomaterials for therapeutic delivery and in vivo sensing within the central nervous system. Incorporating these materials with nanofabricated devices has enabled his lab to develop new platforms for interrogating biological systems in cell culture, isolated tissue, and in vivo. Research in the Richards lab also focuses on the development of ensemble and single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy techniques for the study of complex biological systems. His lab has recently applied this approach to study substance use disorders along with the development of therapeutic delivery platforms for cancer and spinal cord injury. Dr. Richards received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Maine and his PhD in physical chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was also a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech where he was also a Beckman postdoctoral Scholar.

An osteosarcoma diagnosis translates to lots of time in the hospital and an unpredictable schedule that is driven by treatment plans and unexpected complications. Spending holidays and important days in the hospital can be particularly rough. OsteoWarriors Sammy, MacKenzie, and Matthew share their hospital holiday experiences, bad and good, from nausea ruining a pumpkin pie to breaking out of the hospital to enjoy the city holiday lights and carolers. They share the little magical moments created by their hospital care teams that made it better, how spending holidays in the hospital has changed their perspective on the holidays, tips and advice for patients who might be in the hospital this upcoming holiday season, and suggestions for how family and friends can best support them with holiday cheer.

Osteosarcoma Webinar Series: Osteosarcoma Webinar Series: One of our MIB Agents OutSmarting Osteosarcoma 2024 grant recipients, Dr. Shahana Mahajan, a Professor and Principal Investigator from Hunter College of the City University of New York will provide an overview of her funded work on repurposing drugs for metastatic osteosarcoma.

Dr. Mahajan will share the recent findings from her lab on testing the efficacy of Riluzole in osteosarcoma cell lines and patient-derived cell lines. Riluzole is a glutamate-release inhibitor and has been used for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for decades and is being tested for other neurodegenerative disorders. Riluzole has shown promising results in glutamate receptor-expressing melanoma and other cancer types. The Mahajan Lab efforts are invested in establishing Riluzole as a possible treatment option for osteosarcoma for which targeted therapy has not been successful due to lack of oncogenic driver mutations. In their lab, Riluzole has shown efficacy in inhibiting proliferation, migration, and invasive ability of osteosarcoma cells in 11 cell lines and 4 patient-derived lines.

Dr. Mahajan earned a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, a premier Institute in India in the field of Molecular Biology. She did postdoctoral studies at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Department of Pharmacology and at NYU Langone Medical Center in the Department of Biochemistry. She continued her research at NYU Langone Medical Center as a Research Assistant Professor until she joined Hunter College as an Assistant Professor in 2007. At Hunter, she continued her research neuroscience to investigate glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in rat hippocampal neurons. After her lab was lost to Hurricane Sandy, she reinitiated her research in osteosarcoma. In 2015, her lab moved to Belfer Research Building which is a part of Weill Cornell Medical College. She was appointed as an adjunct faculty at Weill Cornell Medical College.

After a short presentation on this research, she will take questions from attendees. Share your questions in advance with us at [email protected].

Joanne Tuohy, DVM, PhD from Virginia Tech and the Virgina-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine will be sharing information about canine trials studying histotripsy as a novel tumor ablation modality for treating osteosarcoma. Histotripsy is a focused ultrasound tumor ablation technique that is non-invasive, non-ionizing and non-thermal, and it also has potential to induce immunomodulatory effects after tumor ablation. Histotripsy is capable of delivering highly precise tumor ablation and spares normal tissues adjacent to the ablation site. Histotripsy has exciting potential to serve as a non-surgical limb salvage treatment for osteosarcoma. Additionally, due to its immunomodulatory effects, histotripsy has potential to be synergistic with immunotherapies and increase the efficacy of immunotherapies in osteosarcoma.

After a short presentation on this research, she will take questions from attendees. Share your questions in advance with us at [email protected].