Advances in differentiation therapy for osteosarcoma.

• Osteosarcoma is a disease resulting from osteogenic differentiation defects. • Differentiation therapy for osteosarcoma has received extensive attention. • Various agents have been shown to induce terminal differentiation in osteosarcoma. • The exploration of new inducers and biomarkers is the way forward. Differentiation therapy involves the use of agents that can induce differentiation in cancer cells, with the irreversible loss of tumour phenotype. The application of differentiation therapy in osteosarcoma has made progress because of a better understanding of the potential links between differentiation defects and tumorigenesis. Here, we review recent studies on differentiation therapy for osteosarcoma, describing a variety of differentiation inducers. By highlighting these examples of drug-induced osteosarcoma cell differentiation, we can acquire unique insights into not only osteosarcoma treatment, but also novel approaches to transform differentiating drugs into more effective therapies for other solid tumours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]