Background: Osteosarcoma is the most common, non-hematopoietic, primary bone cancer. Current standard treatment is to use neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgical resection. However, many complications from chemotherapy have been reported. Some studies have reported artemisinin derivatives showed cytotoxic and anti-angiogenic properties.
Objective: To investigate cytotoxic properties of artemisinin and its derivatives on human osteosarcoma cell lines.
Material and Method: Osteosarcoma cell lines (MG63 and 148B) were continuously cultured. MTT assay was used to
evaluate cytotoxic properties of artemisinin derivatives at 48 hours of incubation. These cell lines were also tested against
doxorubicin as a control. Each IC50 value represented the mean of at least 3 experiments. Independent t-test was used to test differences between groups.
Results: Artemisinin and its derivatives at micromolar range exhibited anti-cancer growth activities in human osteosarcoma cell lines. Among them, RKA182 the new synthetic tetraoxane is the most effective in inhibiting cell growth. In addition, watersoluble properties of drugs may be the main factor in cytotoxicity.
Conclusion: The promising result shows that artemisinin and its derivative inhibits the growth of human osteosarcoma cells. This study indicated that RKA182 may be a potent and promising agent to combat osteosarcoma. Further studies should be conducted of new synthetic drugs as possible anti-cancer drugs or adjuvant therapy in the clinical treatment of osteosarcoma.

Keywords: Artemisinin derivatives, MTT, Human osteosarcoma cells