Enhanced combination treatment on osteosarcoma by mitigating drug-induced oncogenic signaling pathway activation

Osteosarcoma is a prevalent primary malignant bone tumor in children and young adults, with limited progress in improving survival rates for metastatic or recurrent cases. Kinase inhibitors emerged as potential treatment for osteosarcoma due to the critical role of kinases regulating network. However, single-agent kinase inhibitors often face challenges due to the activation of compensatory oncogenic signaling pathways, which can undermine treatment efficacy. In this study, a systematic combination screening of kinase inhibitors was further conducted in osteosarcoma cells. Among 190 pair-wise combinations, 44 exhibited strong synergistic antitumor efficacy. Notably, the combination of the ALK inhibitor Ceritinib and the FLT3 inhibitor Crenolanib showed significant synergistic effects against osteosarcoma cell lines, patient-derived organoids in vitro, and xenograft models in vivo. This combination also effectively mitigated the compensatory activation of oncogenic signaling pathways, a common resistance mechanism to single-agent therapies. Our findings provide compelling evidence that dual kinase inhibition targeting ALK and FLT3 can effectively exploit pharmacological vulnerabilities in osteosarcoma, suggesting a promising therapeutic strategy for clinical application. This combinatorial approach could potentially overcome the limitations of single-agent therapies and improve outcomes for patients with osteosarcoma. Further clinical evaluation is warranted to confirm these preclinical results.