Surgical intervention is a primary treatment for osteosarcoma, often resulting in a tumorous bone defect with an irregular shape. Postoperative management is essential to minimize tumor recurrence risks and promote bone regeneration. To address these issues, we developed a multifunctional injectable, rapidly photo-curable hydrogel composed of gelatin methacryloyl/carboxymethyl chitosan/hyaluronic acid (GelMA/CMCS/HA), modified with vanadium-doped mesoporous bioactive glass (VMBG). The exceptional injectability enables seamless adaptation to irregular bone defects, offering a significant advantage over preformed implants, while the rapid photocurability of the hydrogel ensures stable fixation within minutes, thereby reducing potential risks during surgery. Furthermore, this platform exhibits dual therapeutic efficacy, characterized by antitumor activity and osteogenic induction. In vitro assessments demonstrated that V(V)/V(IV) valence cycling-driven ROS generation mediated its potent antitumor efficacy. Additionally, concurrent enhancement of alkaline phosphatase activity and osteogenic marker expression validated its osteogenic potential. The CMCS incorporation promoted healing at the defect site, while the HA addition created binding sites for cell adhesion and growth, thereby improving scaffold bioactivity. Collectively, this study presents the development and validation of a multifunctional GelMA/CMCS/HA hydrogel, highlighting its dual capability for bone regeneration and tumor suppression within tumor-associated bone microenvironments.
Jin et al. (2026) studied this question.