Elham Nasri, MD, resident, Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, discusses the role of p16 and p21 as predictive biomarkers in patients with osteosarcoma.

The checkpoints p16 and p21 are not targetable with therapy, but they act as predictive biomarkers with regard to how a patient will potentially benefit from therapy for osteosarcoma, explains Nasri. These checkpoints inhibit the cells from proliferating and from entering the synthesis phase of the cell cycle, adds Nasri.

Previously, in vitro work done in the oncology laboratory by Nasri and colleagues at the University of Florida shed light on the role of the checkpoints in the disease. Researchers realized these checkpoints could be used in real time in vivo to stratify patients based on the expression of p16 and p21, Nasri concludes.

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Elham Nasri, MD, discusses the role of p16 and p21 as predictive biomarkers in patients with osteosarcoma.

Dr. Nasri on the Role of p16 and p21 as Predictive Biomarkers in Osteosarcoma

Elham Nasri, MD, fellow, Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology, University of Florida, discusses risk stratification in osteosarcoma.

Currently, patients with osteosarcoma are diagnosed, given 4 cycles of chemotherapy, and prepared for surgery. There is no prognostic marker that would indicate whether a patient’s risk for disease progression or their likelihood of response to chemotherapy, says Nasri.

As such, Nasri is focused on identifying predictors of clinicopathologic outcomes in patients with high-grade osteosarcoma. At the 2019 Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Conference, Nasri presented data on cell cycle checkpoints P16 and P21 as potential markers. If these markers are validated, patients could be stratified according to their risk, which could lead to better defined chemotherapy regimens, and thus, optimized outcomes.

Elham Nasri, MD

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Dr. Nasri on the Role of p16 and p21 as Predictive Biomarkers in Osteosarcoma

Dr. Nasri on Risk Stratification in Osteosarcoma