Osteosarcoma is the most common nonhaematological primary malignant tumor of the bone, it arises from mesenchymal cells that produce osteoid and immature bone and affects mainly the extremities of adolescents and young adults [
1,
2]. Its biologic behavior involves various factors such as: Aggressiveness: Osteosarcoma is highly aggressive and tends to grow rapidly. It can metastasize to other organs, commonly to the lungs. Local Invasion: It has the capacity to invade nearby tissues and structures, causing bone destruction and potential fractures. High Recurrence Risk: Even after treatment, there’s a risk of recurrence in osteosarcoma patients, particularly if the tumor wasn’t completely removed or if cells have spread to other areas of the body [
3]. Osteosarcoma is a type of bone tumor that has a complex and multifactorial pathogenesis [
4,
5]. Although it is not fully understood, there are some key factors that contribute to its formation:
Treatment of high grade osteosarcoma is based on a multidisciplinary approach that includes neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgical excision of the primary tumor and metastasis excision; evaluation of response to therapy in the surgical specimen is crucial to eventually schedule a postoperative chemotherapy [
9]. Patients’ survival is related to the development of metastasis and the response to chemotherapy. Standard therapy regimens often involve the use of high-dose methotrexate, doxorubicin, cisplatin and ifosfamide [
10,
11]. Moreover, osteosarcoma cases are commonly resistant to traditional chemotherapies, and high-dose chemotherapy results in severe side effects [
12].
Some of the predictive markers and prognostic factors that are considered include:
Moreover, some genetic mutations can influence tumor behavior and response to treatment. For example, the presence of mutations in the TP53 or RB1 genes may correlate with less favorable prognoses [
4,
5]. However, the somatic genome of the osteosarcoma is considered complex and characterized by tumor heterogeneity [
16,
17]; indeed, increased number of mutations, not only in TP53 or RB1 genes, but also in genes that are part of the Wnt signaling pathway, such as APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) and β-catenin, have been associated with osteosarcoma. This signaling pathway regulates cell growth and differentiation [
18]. Mutations in genes involved in the MAP kinase signaling pathway, such as BRAF, may be present in some subtypes of osteosarcoma, affecting the growth and survival of tumor cells [
19] and the mutation rate of osteosarcoma is the highest among all pediatric tumors [
16,
17]. In addition to point mutations, osteosarcoma can present structural genomic changes, such as copy number variations, chromosomal rearrangements, deletions, or amplifications that can affect the function of key genes in the control of cell growth [
20]. Also, the gene expression analysis can identify genes that are overexpressed or downregulated in tumor cells [
5] and alterations in cellular signaling pathways, such as the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway or the epidermal growth factor (EGF) pathway, may be involved in the growth and survival of tumor cells [
21]. Furthermore, phenomena of chromothripsis (massive genomic rearrangement that occurs in a single event) and kataegis (localized hypermutation) have been demonstrated in osteosarcomas. Kataegis was found in over 50% of osteosarcomas analyzed with whole genome sequencing [
22]. Nonetheless survival rates of patients have not greatly improved [
23], because these alterations can vary from patient to patient, contributing to the diversity of the disease and making it difficult to identify a single cause or pathogenetic pathway. Identification of these genetic mutations in osteosarcoma is essential to better understand tumor biology and develop targeted therapies that can stop specific molecular pathways involved in its growth and spread resulting in a lack of more effective and tailored chemotherapy drug regimens [
24].