Biomarkers of Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, and Ewing Sarcoma

Role of VEGFs/VEGFR-1 Signaling and its Inhibition in Modulating Tumor Invasion: Experimental Evidence in Different Metastatic Cancer Models

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family members, VEGF-A, placenta growth factor (PlGF), and to a lesser extent VEGF-B, play an essential role in tumor-associated angiogenesis, tissue infiltration, and metastasis formation. Although VEGF-A can activate both VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 membrane receptors, PlGF and VEGF-B exclusively interact with VEGFR-1. Differently from VEGFR-2, which is involved both in physiological and pathological angiogenesis, in the adult VEGFR-1 is required only for pathological angiogenesis. Besides this role in tumor endothelium, ligand-mediated stimulation of VEGFR-1 expressed in tumor cells may directly induce cell chemotaxis and extracellular matrix invasion. Furthermore, VEGFR-1 activation in myeloid progenitors and tumor-associated macrophages favors cancer immune escape through the release of immunosuppressive cytokines. These properties have prompted a number of preclinical and clinical studies to analyze VEGFR-1 involvement in the metastatic process. The aim of the present review is to highlight the contribution of VEGFs/VEGFR-1 signaling in the progression of different tumor types and to provide an overview of the therapeutic approaches targeting VEGFR-1 currently under investigation.

2D MXene-Integrated 3D-Printing Scaffolds for Augmented Osteosarcoma Phototherapy and Accelerated Tissue Reconstruction

The residual of malignant tumor cells and lack of bone-tissue integration are the two critical concerns of bone-tumor recurrence and surgical failure. In this work, the rational integration of 2D Ti3C2 MXene is reported with 3D-printing bioactive glass (BG) scaffolds for achieving concurrent bone-tumor killing by photonic hyperthermia and bone-tissue regeneration by bioactive scaffolds. The designed composite scaffolds take the unique feature of high photothermal conversion of integrated 2D Ti3C2 MXene for inducing bone-tumor ablation by near infrared-triggered photothermal hyperthermia, which has achieved the complete tumor eradication on in vivo bone-tumor xenografts. Importantly, the rational integration of 2D Ti3C2 MXene is demonstrated to efficiently accelerate the in vivo growth of newborn bone tissue of the composite BG scaffolds. The dual functionality of bone-tumor killing and bone-tissue regeneration makes these Ti3C2 MXene-integrated composite scaffolds highly promising for the treatment of bone tumors, which also substantially broadens the biomedical applications of 2D MXenes in tissue engineering, especially on the treatment of bone tumors.

Metabolic profiling of serum in patients with cartilage tumours using 1 H-NMR spectroscopy: A pilot study

Cartilage-forming lesions include tumours that can vary in severity from benign enchondromas to high-grade malignant chondrosarcomas. Chondrosarcoma is the second most frequent malignant bone tumour, accounting for 20-30% of all malignant bone neoplasms. Surgery is the standard treatment for cartilage tumours (CTs); however, their incidental diagnosis and the difficult differentiation of low-grade lesions like chondrosarcoma grade I from benign entities like enchondroma are challenges for clinical management. In this sense, the search for circulating biomarkers for early detection and prognosis is an ongoing interest. Targeted metabolomics is a powerful tool that can propose potential biomarkers in biological fluids as well as help to discover disturbed metabolic pathways to reveal tumour pathogenesis. In this context, the aim of this study was to investigate the ¹ H nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomic serum profile of patients with CTs contrasted with healthy controls. Forty-one metabolites were identified and quantified; the multivariate statistical methods principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis reveal a clear separation of the CT group, that is, the differential metabolites that were involved in two main metabolic pathways: the taurine and hypotaurine metabolism and synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies. Our results represent preliminary work for emergent serum-based diagnostics or prognostic methods for patients with chondrogenic tumours.

LncRNA-SRA1 Suppresses Osteosarcoma Cell Proliferation While Promoting Cell Apoptosis

Objective:

Osteosarcoma is a common malignant bone tumor that is frequently found in the long bones of children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to examine long noncoding RNA-steroid receptor RNA activator 1 expression in osteosarcoma to explore the biological function of long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1 on proliferation, migration, and invasion along with apoptosis and its regulatory mechanism, which would facilitate the early diagnosis and targeted therapy of osteosarcoma.

Methods:

First, microarray analysis was applied to determine the expression of long noncoding RNAs in osteosarcoma tissues and paired normal tissues. Then, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was utilized to validate microarray findings. Next, osteosarcoma cancerous cell lines SJSA-1 and U2OS were transfected with pcDNA3.1-SRA1 or pCMV-sh-SRA1 to increase or decrease steroid receptor RNA activator 1 expression levels, and microRNA-208a inhibitors, mimic to investigate the effects of microRNA-208a on osteosarcoma as well as the regulatory relation between long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1 and microRNA-208a. Cell proliferation was evaluated through Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays. Flow cytometry analysis was conducted to evaluate the apoptosis ratio. The migration and invasion abilities were measured using wound-healing and transwell assays.

Results:

Long noncoding RNA-steroid receptor RNA activator 1 expression was downregulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cells compared with that in corresponding normal tissues, whereas microRNA-208a expression was upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues. Moreover, the restoration of long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1 inhibited cell proliferation, and upregulation of long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1 restrained cell migration and invasion but boosted the apoptosis rate in osteosarcoma cells. In addition, long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1 targeting microRNA-208a was involved in the progression of osteosarcoma. Furthermore, upregulating microRNA-208a exerted similar roles of silencing long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1 in cell apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and invasion, which were reversed by enhancing the expression of long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1.

Conclusions:

In our study, long noncoding RNA steroid receptor RNA activator 1 played an antitumor role in osteosarcoma as it reduced cell migration, invasion, and proliferation, but facilitated cell apoptosis via sponging microRNA-208a, which could be regarded as a potential therapeutic target of osteosarcoma treatment.

Resistin enhances angiogenesis in osteosarcoma via the MAPK signaling pathway

Over the last two decades, there have been no significant changes in patient outcomes in relation to the treatment of osteosarcoma, an aggressive malignant neoplasm. It is known that vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) plays a crucial role in angiogenesis and in osteosarcoma. Moreover, VEGF-A expression correlates with clinical stages of osteosarcoma. The adipokine resistin exhibits proinflammatory, proangiogenic and metastatic properties, and evidence suggests that resistin may serve as a prognostic biomarker linking obesity and inflammation to cancer. However, whether resistin has a role in osteosarcoma angiogenesis is unclear. This investigation shows that resistin promotes VEGF-A expression in human osteosarcoma cells and activates the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 signaling pathways, while ERK, JNK, and p38 inhibitors or their small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) inhibit resistin-induced VEGF-A expression as well as endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) migration and tube formation. We also found that resistin upregulates VEGF-A expression by enhancing activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). Finally, resistin promotes angiogenesis in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. Resistin appears to be a promising target for human osteosarcoma.

Thyroid metastasis from chondrosarcoma

For chondrosarcoma, metastasis to the thyroid gland is extremely rare. The diagnosis and treatment of thyroid metastasis from chondrosarcoma are discussed here.We found a case of thyroid malignancy occurring after treatment of chondrosarcoma. We reviewed patient characteristics, histological presentations on initial chondrosarcoma and thyroid metastasis, treatments, times of recurrence and death. In addition, we searched Embase, PubMed, and ISI Web of Science databases (1996-2018) for articles published in the English language using the key words "chondrosarcoma" and "thyroid" and we reviewed almost all the reports about thyroid metastasis from chondrosarcoma.Only 5 cases of chondrosarcoma metastases in the thyroid gland have been reported in the literature. We found that most patients are adults, with compression signs or pain, most of whom have poor prognoses. The main examinations are ultrasound, CT and fine needle aspiration biopsy, and primary treatment is surgery.These rare cases of chondrosarcoma presenting as a metastasis in the thyroid gland highlight the importance of close communication between radiologists, histopathologists, and clinicians to ensure that such exceptional cases are not missed.

Phase II trial of the glycoprotein non-metastatic B-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, glembatumumab vedotin (CDX-011), in recurrent osteosarcoma AOST1521: A report from the Children's Oncology Group

BACKGROUND

The prognosis is poor for children and adolescents with recurrent osteosarcoma (OS). Glycoprotein non-metastatic B (gpNMB) is a glycoprotein highly expressed in OS cells. We conducted a phase II study of glembatumumab vedotin (GV), a fully human IgG2 monoclonal antibody (CR011) against gpNMB conjugated to the microtubule inhibitor, monomethyl auristatin E.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients aged ≥12 years and <50 years with relapsed or refractory OS were eligible. GV 1.9 mg/kg/dose was administered on day 1 of each 21 day cycle. Pharmacokinetics were mandatory in patients aged <15 years. gpNMB expression was measured by immunohistochemistry. The primary end-point was disease control at 4 months and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours response. A 2-stage design was used to determine efficacy.

RESULTS

Twenty-two patients were enrolled, and all were evaluable for response. Antibody-drug conjugate levels were detectable in patients, although small numbers limit comparison to adult data. The toxicities observed were similar to the previous studies with GV. The most common grade III adverse event was rash. One death from end organ failure occurred possibly related to GV. Of the 22 patients, one patient had a partial response, and two had stable disease. There was no correlation between gpNMB expression and response to GV.

CONCLUSIONS

GV was well tolerated in this population. Although there was some antitumour activity, the extent of disease control in stage I did not meet the level required to proceed to stage II.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS

NCT02487979.

Predictors of the survival of patients with chondrosarcoma of bone and metastatic disease at diagnosis

Purpose: Chondrosarcoma with metastatic disease has a very poor prognosis. However, the prognosis and potential prognostic factors of patients with primary chondrosarcoma of bone and metastasis at presentation have not been documented because of its rarity. Therefore, we examined the prognosis of this special cohort and identify possible prognostic factors.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program database was used to identify patients with primary chondrosarcoma of bone and metastatic disease at diagnosis from 2000 to 2013. The prognostic analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and a Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Results: The SEER database contained 264 cases. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-survival specific (CSS) rates of the entire group at 5 years were 28.4% and 31.2%, respectively. The median OS and CSS were 14.0 ± 2.5 and 17.0 ± 2.6 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that low tumor grade, surgical treatment, tumor size < 10 cm, and first primary tumor were associated with improved OS. Tumor grade, tumor size, and surgery were independent predictors of CSS. Radiation therapy had no effect on either OS or CSS.

Conclusion: Among patients with primary chondrosarcoma of bone and metastasis at presentation, low tumor grade, surgical treatment, tumor size < 10 cm, and first primary tumor predict prolonged survival.

Chondrosarcoma Metastasis to the Choroid

We report a rare case of chondrosarcoma metastatic to the choroid. A 64-year-old male with a history of chondrosarcoma metastatic to the lungs and to the spine presented with blurred vision. A choroidal tumor was found. Fine-needle biopsy confirmed the histologic identity of the tumor as chondrosarcoma. Metastatic spread of chondrosarcoma to the eye is extremely rare. When present, lesions may grow rapidly, and systemic prognosis is poor. Co-management with medical oncology is of utmost importance. This is the third case of chondrosarcoma metastatic to the choroid in the literature and the first with bilateral involvement.

Incidence and mortality of bone cancer among children, adolescents and young adults of Brazil

OBJECTIVES

Bone cancers occur frequently in children, adolescents, and young adults aging 15 to 29 years. Osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma are the most frequent subtypes in this population. The aim of this study was to describe incidence and mortality trends of bone cancers among Brazilian children, adolescents and young adults.

METHODS

Incidence information was obtained from 23 population-based cancer registries. Mortality data were extracted from the Atlas of Cancer Mortality from 1979 to 2013. Specific and adjusted rates per million were analyzed according to gender, morphology and age at diagnosis. Median rates were used as a measure of central tendency. Joinpoint regression was applied to analyze trends.

RESULTS

Median incidence rates were 5.74 and 11.25 cases per million in children and young adults respectively. Osteosarcoma in the 15-19 years aged group had the highest incidence rates. Stable incidence rates were observed among five registries in 0-14 year's age group. Four registries had a decreased incidence trend among adolescents and young adults. Median mortality rates were 1.22 and 5.07 deaths per million in children and young adults respectively. Increased mortality was observed on the North and Northeast regions. Decreased mortality trends were seen in the South (children) and Southeast (adolescents and young adults).

CONCLUSION

Osteosarcoma and Ewing Sarcoma are the most incident bone cancers in all Brazilian regions. Bone cancers showed incidence and mortality patterns variation within the geographic regions and across age groups, although not significant. Despite limitations, it is crucial to monitor cancer epidemiology trends across geographic Brazilian regions.

Therapeutic effect of palbociclib in chondrosarcoma: implication of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 as a potential target

BACKGROUND

Chondrosarcoma is a malignant cartilaginous neoplasm of the bone which resistant to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CKD4) is highly expressed in human cancer, and palbociclib, the inhibitor of CDK4 has been used clinically under FDA approval for application in cancer therapeutic remedies. However, the level of CDK4 and the treatment possibility in chondrosarcoma require further exploration. Thus, we aim to investigate the level of CDK4 and accompanying therapeutic effects of palbociclib in chondrosarcoma.

METHODS

We used immunohistochemistric analysis to evaluate human CDK4 productions in chondrosarcoma tissues. The inhibitory expression of CDK4 by siRNA or palbociclib on cell proliferation, invasion, migration, apoptosis and cycle arrest of chondrosarcoma were determined by MTT, wound healing, transwell and flow cytometry. CDK4/Rb signaling pathway were determined by western blot and Immunofluorescence assay. The inhibition effect of palbociclib on tumor growth within the bone were determined by bioluminescence imaging in vivo.

RESULTS

CDK4 was found to express significantly in human chondrosarcoma samples. The enhanced levels of CDK4 were interlinked with malignant metastasis and undesirable prognosis of chondrosarcoma patients. CDK4 was also highly expressed in human chondrosarcoma cell lines and its inhibition by specific siRNA and palbociclib lead to a decrease in cell proliferation, accompanied by the phosphorylation of Rb. Furthermore, palbociclib also induced cell cycle arrest in G1 phase and decreased cell migration and invasion via CDK4/Rb signaling pathway. Administration of palbociclib in vivo could reduce tumor burden in chondrosarcoma.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, these data highlight CDK4 inhibitors, such as palbociclib, as potential promising therapeutics in the treatment of human chondrosarcoma.

DDX10 overexpression predicts worse prognosis in osteosarcoma and its deletion prohibits cell activities modulated by MAPK pathway

Osteosarcoma (OS) is an invasive cancer in the skeletal system. The molecular mechanism of its etiology and pathogenesis are still not clear, so the effective treatment strategy of OS needs further research. First, we analyzed the expression level and prognostic ability of the RNA helicase DDX10 in OS patients based on the data obtained from GEO database. Next, we used CCK8 to test OS cell viability. Besides, we used wound-healing assay and transwell migration assay to detect cell migration of OS MG63 cell line. And the cell invasion was tested by transwell invasion assay. Moreover, we used QRT-PCR and western blot to analyze the mRNA and protein expression levels. We found that DDX10 was significantly over-expressed in OS patients and elevated level of DDX10 was associated with a poor prognosis. Silencing of DDX10 inhibited proliferation, invasion and migration of MG63 cells in vitro. Down-regulation of DDX10 inhibited MAPK signaling pathway. The expression of p-MEK and p-ERK were also decreased by silencing of DDX10. Therefore, Silencing of DDX10 inhibited proliferation, invasion and migration of MG63 cells, which might be regulated by suppression of MAPK pathway. In conclusion, our results unfold a novel area of studying for understanding how DDX10 functions in OS oncogenic and prognostic significance, accordingly implying a promising therapeutic target for OS treatment.

MicroRNA-221 regulates osteosarcoma cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion by targeting CDKN1B/p27

MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miR) are of critical importance in growth and metastasis of cancer cells; however, the underlying functions of miRNAs in osteosarcoma (OS) remain largely unknown. This study was aimed to elucidate the role of miR-221 in regulating the biological behavior of OS cells. The proliferation ability was examined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and cell cycle assay. The abilities of cell migration, invasion, and apoptosis were monitored by transwell assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The effect of miR-221 on cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B) expression was evaluated by luciferase assays, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis. We found that miR-221 was elevated in OS cell lines compared with the normal osteoblastic cell line. Transfection of the miR-221 inhibitor into MG63 and U-2OS cell lines obviously suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, which is accompanied with cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase. Furthermore, luciferase reporter assays indicated that CDKN1B is directly targeted by miR-221 in OS cells. Knockdown of CDKN1B inhibited the effects of miR-221 inhibitor, along with decreased Bax and caspase-3 and increased cyclin E, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, Snail, and Twist1 expression. The results suggested that miR-221 might act as a potentially useful target for treatment of OS.

The possible role of insulin-like growth factor-1 in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a common malignant tumor of bone, of which clear understanding of molecular pathologic process is not yet possible. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a hormone that plays vital role in development and function of many tissues. Unfortunately, IGF-1 and its receptor (IGF-1R)'s over-expression have been implicated in carcinogenesis, and indicated to constitute a risk factor for the development of multiple human cancers, including OS. Increased levels of IGF-1 and IGF-1R have been reported in OS, leading to cancer progression through transformation, proliferation, pro-metastasis, and decreased susceptibility to apoptosis. Over-expression of IGF-1/IGF-1R signaling also contributes to tumor cell survival, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. IGF-1 has been included as an OS marker recently, and targeting IGF-1 is an interesting and promising approach in OS therapeutics. However more investigations with clinical trials are necessary to validate the use of drugs against IGF-1 that may provide a basis for new therapeutic approaches to treat this devastating disease. This review article focused on the role of IGF-1/IGF-1R in OS progression and therapeutic aspects of OS targeting IGF-1.

Circular RNAs hsa_circ_0032462, hsa_circ_0028173, hsa_circ_0005909 are predicted to promote CADM1 expression by functioning as miRNAs sponge in human osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary malignant bone tumor with a high fatality rate. Many circRNAs have been proved to play important roles in the pathogenesis of some diseases. However, the occurrence of circRNAs in OS remains little known.

METHODS

The circular RNA (circRNA) expression file GSE96964 dataset, which included seven osteosarcoma cell lines and one control sample (osteoblast cell line), was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to explore the potential function of circRNAs in osteosarcoma by competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) analysis. Three gene expression profiles of OS were downloaded from GEO database and then used for the pathway enrichment analysis, Venn analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. Real-time qPCR validation and RNA interference were conducted to verify our prediction.

RESULTS

Differentially expressed circRNAs between OS and control, including 8 up-regulated and 102 down-regulated circRNAs, were generated and ceRNA analysis for 5 most up-regulated or 5 most down-regulated circRNAs in OS were then performed. The pathway enrichment analysis of gene expression profiles indicated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of three gene profiles significantly enriched in cell cycle pathway, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) pathway, oxidative phosphorylation pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway, p53 signaling pathway and proteoglycans in cancer pathway, which were critical important pathways in the pathogenesis of OS. The Venn analysis showed that 2 (one is a pseudogene) up-regulated and 39 down-regulated DEGs were co-expressed in all three gene profiles. Then PPI networks of 41 co-expressed DEGs (up- and down-regulated DEGs) were constructed to predict their functions using the GeneMANIA. The expression levels of these related RNAs also matched our predictions really well.

CONCLUSION

Ultimately, we found cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) gene was not only a co-expression mRNA of the three mRNA expression profiles of OS, but also are predicted to be regulated by hsa_circ_0032462, hsa_circ_0028173, hsa_circ_0005909 by functioning as miRNAs 'Sponge' in human osteosarcoma. These over-expressed circRNAs may result in the over expression of CADM1 which promote the development of OS. We envision this discovery of these important moleculars, incuding hsa_circ_0032462, hsa_circ_0028173, hsa_circ_0005909 and CADM1 may lead to further development of new concepts, thus allowing for more opportunities in diagnosis and therapy of OS.

Prognostic value of C-reactive protein levels in patients with bone neoplasms: A meta-analysis

Objective

The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of retrospective studies that investigated the association of preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels with the overall survival (OS) of patients with bone neoplasms.

Methods

A detailed literature search was performed in the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase and PubMed databases up to August 28, 2017, for related research publications written in English. We extracted the data from these studies and combined the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the correlation between CRP levels and OS in patients with bone neoplasms.

Results

Five studies with a total of 816 participants from several countries were enrolled in this current meta-analysis. In a pooled analysis of all the publications, increased serum CRP levels had an adverse prognostic effect on the overall survival of patients with bone neoplasms. However, the combined data showed no significant relationship between the level of CRP and OS in Asian patients (HR = 1.73; 95% CI: 0.86–3.49; P = 0.125). Similar trends were observed in patients with bone neoplasms when stratified by ethnicity, histology, metastasis and study sample size.

Conclusions

The results of this meta-analysis suggest that increased CRP expression indicates a poorer prognosis in patients with bone neoplasms. More prospective studies are needed to confirm the prognostic significance of CRP levels in patients with bone neoplasms.

miR-143-3p inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion in osteosarcoma by targeting FOSL2

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common type of primary malignant bone tumor and mainly occurs in children and adolescent. Because of its early migration and invasion, OS has a poor prognosis. It has been reported that mircoRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in the occurrence and development of multiple tumors. In this study, we identified the aberrant-expression of miR-143-3p in osteosarcoma and examined the role of miR-143-3p in OS development. Further, we searched the miR-143-3p target gene and verified its accuracy by luciferase experiments. Finally, we explored the relationship between miR-143-3p and FOS-Like antigen 2 (FOSL2). Our data indicated that miR-143-3p expression was substantially lower in OS tissues and cell-line compared with normal tissues, and was lower in patients with poor prognosis. In addition miR-143-3p inhibited OS cell proliferation and metastasis while promoting apoptosis. We next showed that FOSL2 was directly targeted by miR-143-3p and could reverse the inhibition caused by miR-143-3p. Finally, we found FOSL2 expression in OS cells was significantly higher compared with normal cells and negatively correlated with miR-143-3p. Thus, miR-143-3p directly and negatively targets FOSL2 to affect OS characteristics. This provides a new target for the treatment of OS and deserves further study.

Effect of alkylaminophenols on growth inhibition and apoptosis of bone cancer cells

In this work, we report the anticancer properties of a series of 11 chemically synthesized alkylaminophenols against human osteosarcoma U2OS tumor cell line. Several assays including cytotoxicity, inhibitor kinetic study, cell migration, Annexin-V/PI double staining, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and caspase 3/7 assays were conducted on this cell line. Cytotoxic 2-((3,4-dihydroquinolin-1(2H)-yl)(p-tolyl)methyl)phenol was determined to have an IC₅₀ value of 36.6μM against U2OS cells and it also inhibits the cell growth in time-dependent manner. The potent activity of lead compound against the growth of multiple cell lines, U2OS, MG-65 and HEK-293T, confirms the osteosarcoma cell specific inhibition. Further studies indicated that such compound is an inhibitor of metastatic property of tumor cells and inducing apoptosis agent. The ability of increasing ROS and inducing caspases 3 and 7 further confirm the contribution of programmed cell death in U2OS and HEK-293T cells. Additionally, four compounds based on the 2-(indolin-1-yl(aryl)methyl)-4-nitrophenol core were also identified to be cytotoxic with IC₅₀ values in the 66-88μM range. This work further demonstrates the anticancer properties of phenol derivatives, adding one more entry to the collection of promising chemotherapeutic agents for cancer treatment.