2026 Family Guide
Osteosarcoma Research · A Parent's Guide
What every family needs to know about the science, the trials, and the people working to change outcomes.
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The science and the trials, sourced and cited. Delivered to your inbox.
What's inside
- The 40-year treatment plateau · why the standard of care hasn't changed since the 1980s, and the four structural reasons progress has stalled.
- What's changing in 2026 · inside the $15 million Break Through Cancer Defying Osteosarcoma TeamLab and the new drug classes now in trials.
- A plain-language guide to active clinical trials, including how to read a listing: phase, eligibility, primary endpoint, and sponsor.
- How research actually gets funded, and where philanthropic capital fills the gaps government funding can't reach.
- A full page of questions to bring to your child's oncologist, plus a resource directory of trial registries and patient-support organizations.
The data behind it
Sources: American Cancer Society (2025) · Frontiers in Immunology (2026), doi:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1790067 · EURAMOS-1 cohort data.
Frequently asked questions
Why hasn't osteosarcoma treatment changed in 40 years?
The standard MAP chemotherapy protocol was established in the early 1980s, and no new drug or combination has been adopted as a new standard of care since. Extreme genomic instability, an immunosuppressive tumor environment, disease rarity, and chronic underfunding all contribute to the plateau.
What is the Break Through Cancer Defying Osteosarcoma TeamLab?
It's a $15 million initiative launched in September 2025, uniting over 20 researchers across eight institutions including Dana-Farber, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Johns Hopkins. The Bardo Foundation is among the funding partners. It's the largest unified effort in North American osteosarcoma research to date.
How do I find an osteosarcoma clinical trial for my child?
Start at ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. government's comprehensive registry, and ask your oncologist about eligibility. Key things to check are the trial's phase, its eligibility criteria, its primary endpoint, and whether it is currently recruiting. The guide includes a plain-language walkthrough of how to read a trial listing.
Is this guide medical advice?
No. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. It is designed to help you have more productive conversations with your child's treatment team, sourced from peer-reviewed literature and institutional publications current as of Q1 2026.
Related guides
- Bring the osteosarcoma clinical trial checklist to your next appointment to work through trial eligibility step by step.
- If you're earlier in the process, the family roadmap for the first 30 days after diagnosis walks through what comes first.
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