Descrizione del progetto
Creare modelli del rischio di frattura nei pazienti affetti da cancro
Le metastasi ossee sono un fenomeno frequente in molti tipi di cancro responsabili di dolore acuto, fratture ossee e deterioramento della qualità della vita dei pazienti. L’estensione del danno osseo dovuto a metastasi tumorali viene attualmente valutata tramite tomografia computerizzata quantitativa (TCQ), un approccio che manca di sensibilità e specificità. Per superare questi limiti, Il progetto METABONE, finanziato dall’UE, sta sviluppando una nuova metodologia di modellizzazione in grado di prevedere il rischio di fratture nei femori metastatici. L’approccio combina dati sperimentali e numerici ed è previsto che funga da strumento di maggiore precisione per gli oncologi, al fine di decidere in merito alle strategie locomotorie nei pazienti affetti da cancro.
Obiettivo
Osteolytic bone metastases are responsible for long bone fracture leading to restricted mobility, surgery, or medullar compression that severely alter quality of life and have a huge socio-economic impact. Current fragility scores to estimate the fracture risk in patients with metastatic femur are based on qualitative evaluation from Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT) scans and lack sensitivity and specificity. Efforts are now made towards the development of patient-specific finite element models to assess the strength of tumoral bone segments, but their accuracy is hampered by several limitations, including limited knowledge of metastatic bone mechanical properties, simulations performed only for single stance loading condition, and simulations providing a global failure criteria. The aim of METABONE is, therefore, to use a novel approach to better predict the fracture risk of metastatic femur. A patient-specific finite element model will be developed based on QCT scans, which will include the real material properties of ex vivo human metastatic bone determined experimentally in the first part of the project. The composition and mechanical behaviour of diseased bone tissue are hypothesised to be rather different from healthy tissue and influential of femoral strength. This model will be used clinically on patients with osteolytic lesions located in proximal femur to assess the fracture risk during daily life activities, using a local failure criteria and a range of different loading conditions. This novel methodology, combining experimental and numerical approaches, is expected to significantly improve the accuracy of fracture risk prediction. Successful completion of METABONE will have the potential to guide clinical decision making, by providing clinicians with a more accurate tool to optimize locomotor strategy and oncology program, in order to prevent bone fracture, improve survival and quality of life of the patients.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
69622 Villeurbanne Cedex
Francia