Abstract:Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with Limb salvage surgery for osteosarcoma. Methods Seventy-eight cases of osteosarcoma in The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University from July 2002 to January 2010 were divided into observation group and control group according to the random number table method, 39 cases in each group. Patients in observation group received neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with limb salvage surgery and those in control group only received limb salvage surgery. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of miRNA in tumor tissues. Serum tumor markers were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The progression-free survival time (PFS), overall survival (OS) and 5-year survival rate were recorded. Results The expression of miRNA-145, miRNA-101, miRNA-335 and miRNA-365 in the tumor tissues of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). After 4 weeks, the serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was observed in the observation group. The levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). During the follow-up period, the PFS and OS time in the observation group were longer than those in the control group. The 5-year survival rate was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions Neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with limb salvage surgery can inhibit the expression of malignant molecules in osteosarcoma, enhance the effect of surgical treatment, and optimize the outcome of long-term treatment.