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University of Tokyo Team Identifies Osteosarcoma Mechanism in Mice Experiments
Researchers announced on July 16, 2026, that they have traced how osteosarcoma develops during adolescent growth spurts. The study examined p53 gene function in young mice and was published in Nature Communications.
Jul 16, 4:00 AM·1m read2 sources
The Japan TimesAudio version
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A research team from the University of Tokyo and other institutions announced on July 16, 2026, that it has identified the cellular mechanism driving osteosarcoma through experiments in mice. The work shows how disruption of a balance maintained by osteoblasts during rapid bone growth leads to the rare cancer.
Osteosarcoma accounts for about 200 new cases each year in Japan, with most patients aged 10 to 19.
The tumors most often appear in the thigh bone and shin bone near the knees. The team, led by Yasuhiro Yamada, a professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, focused on immature osteoblasts at the ends of long bones in young mice. During growth spurts, cells at these sites undergo intense division, increasing the chance of DNA damage.
The p53 tumor suppressor gene normally halts proliferation of abnormal cells. When p53 function is lost, cells with damaged DNA divide without control, producing tumors that later spread to the lungs. “We were able to present the mechanism of osteosarcoma on a cellular level,” Yamada said.
The findings appeared in Nature Communications.
