Prognostic factors, disparity, and equity variables impacting prognosis in bone sarcomas of the hand: SEER database review

Beyond the sarcoma center: establishing the Sarcoma HASM network-a Hub and Spoke Model network for global integrated and precision care

The landscape of sarcoma treatment has evolved significantly, transitioning from amputations to limb-sparing surgeries, underpinned by advancements in multidisciplinary strategies. The establishment of specialized sarcoma centers has been pivotal, though challenges in accessibility and expertise persist. This manuscript proposes the Sarcoma Hub and Spoke Model (HASM) network to address these issues, enhancing coordination and expanding access to specialized care. The HASM network centralizes complex case management at hubs while peripheral spokes manage routine diagnostics and treatments, optimizing resource use and ensuring patient-centered care. Integration with digital interoperable platforms facilitates real-time/real-world data exchange, supports multidisciplinary team meetings, and enables advanced predictive analytics such as Sarcoma Digital Twins and causal machine learning for personalized treatment. The Sarcoma Care Data Warehouse further enhances this model by aggregating comprehensive patient data, supporting quality assessment and continuous improvement. This innovative approach aims to set a new standard for sarcoma care, leveraging technology and collaborative expertise to improve outcomes globally.

Bone Sarcoma Survival in the US Military Health System: Comparison With the SEER Program

BACKGROUND

Access to care is associated with cancer survival. The US Military Health System (MHS) provides universal health care to all beneficiaries. However, it is unknown whether survival among patients with bone sarcoma in a health system providing universal care is better than that in the general population. The aim of the study was to compare survival of patients with bone sarcoma in the US MHS with that of the US general population.

METHODS

The MHS data were obtained from the Department of Defense Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR). The US general population data were obtained from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry. Adult patients were defined as those aged 25 years or older with a histologically confirmed musculoskeletal bone sarcoma diagnosed from January 1, 1987, to December 31, 2013. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the overall survival of the two populations.

RESULTS

The final analysis included 2,273 bone sarcoma cases from ACTUR and 9,092 bone sarcoma cases from SEER. ACTUR patients had significant lower 5-year all-cause death (hazard ratio = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.78) after adjustment for the potential confounders. ACTUR patients with bone sarcoma also exhibited significantly lower risk of all-cause death during the entire follow-up period than the SEER patients (hazard ratio = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.6 to 0.81).

CONCLUSIONS

MHS beneficiaries with bone sarcoma may have longer survival than SEER patients. Our findings support the role of universal access to high-quality care in improving bone sarcoma outcomes.

Socioeconomic disparities in musculoskeletal oncology

Musculoskeletal oncology is a clinical specialty dealing with a diverse population of patients with metastatic bone disease, hematological malignancies with musculoskeletal manifestations, primary bone malignancies and soft tissue sarcomas. There are wide-spread disparities including socioeconomic (SES) and insurance-related disparities reported in the literature. In this review, we'll summarize the disparities surrounding the musculoskeletal oncology.

The Value of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Race and Ethnicity Affecting Patients

Patient race and ethnicity are important factors in health-care inequity, including care for the patient with hand and upper extremity pathologic condition. Physician diversity has been shown to promote better access, improve health-care quality, and improve satisfaction for underserved populations. Concordance, most often defined as a similarity or shared identity between physician and patient, has been shown to have a positive influence on health-care disparities. Although diversity among Hand surgeons is increasing, it is not matching the diversity of the population as a whole. It is imperative that we work to increase and maintain diversity in order to provide the best care for our patients.

Analysis of Clinical Manifestations and Prognostic Factors Affecting Osteosarcoma

Objective

This study is aimed at exploring the clinical manifestations and prognostic factors of osteosarcoma.

Methods

The clinical data of patients with osteosarcoma who were treated in our hospital from January 2018 to March 2020 were selected for retrospective analysis. The general information of the patients, including age, gender, tumor diameter, tumor location, tumor type, surgical method, and Enneking stage, distant disease metastasis, KPS score, and the number of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, were grouped by prognosis for statistical analysis. The clinical characteristics, morbidity and mortality, and prognostic factors of patients were statistically analyzed.

Results

Among the 83 patients in this group, there were 52 males and 31 females, 59 tumors > 10 cm in diameter and 24 tumors < 10 cm in diameter, 16 tumors in the upper limbs and 67 tumors in the lower limbs, 25 tumors in osteoblastoma, 16 tumors in chondroblastoma, 42 tumors in fibroblastoma, 62 tumors in stage II, and 21 tumors in stage III of Enneking stage, 10 tumors in distant metastasis, and 10 tumors in distant metastasis. The death rate of this group was 19.28% (16/83). Multifactor regression analysis confirmed that the Enneking stage III, distant metastasis, KPS score < 70, and the number of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy < 6 were important factors influencing the death of osteosarcoma (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Enneking stage III, distant metastasis, KPS score < 70, and the number of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy < 6 are important influencing factors of osteosarcoma death. Clinical practice can take corresponding preventive and control measures according to the existence of these factors to ensure a good prognosis.