A Longitudinal Study of Functional Outcomes in Patients with Limb Salvage Surgery for Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Evaluation of clinical factors associated with early postoperative physical function and lower extremity functional impairment in patients with soft tissue sarcoma

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between various clinical factors and physical function in the early postoperative period in patients with soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) by subjective and objective evaluations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The 90 patients enrolled in this study were classified into five groups according to tumor location: retroperitoneal, gluteal, groin, thigh, and lower leg. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score was evaluated at discharge; the timed up-and-go test (TUGT) was performed preoperatively and at discharge. Group comparisons by tumor location were performed. To identify significant factors associated with physical dysfunction, multivariate analysis was performed using an MSTS score of <80% and a change in pre and postoperative TUGT score.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between the tumor location and physical function. The change in pre- and postoperative TUGT scores was significantly associated with an MSTS score of <80%. Quadriceps and tibialis anterior muscle resections were significantly associated with the change in pre- and post-operative TUGT scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The quadriceps and tibialis anterior muscles may affect physical dysfunction after surgery for STSs. Early postoperative rehabilitation should include the identification of resected muscles and functional improvement of residual muscles, possibly with orthotic support for knee extension and ankle dorsiflexion.

Immediate Plastic Surgery Intervention after Soft Tissue Sarcoma Resection: Examining Wound Healing, Readmission, and Reoperation

Many orthopedic and surgical oncologists use a multidisciplinary approach to soft tissue sarcoma (STS) resection. This study assesses the role of immediate plastic surgeon involvement during index soft tissue sarcoma resection.

Methods

Adult patients who underwent index STS resection between 2005 and 2018 were queried from an institutional database. Main outcomes analyzed were 90-day same-site reoperation, any-cause readmission, and wound healing complications. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify risk factors. Additional evaluation was then performed for the following two cohorts: patients with and without plastic surgeon involvement.

Results

In total, 228 cases were analyzed. Multivariate regression demonstrated the following predictors for 90-day wound-healing complications: plastic surgery intervention [OR = 0.321 (0.141-0.728), P = 0.007], operative time [OR = 1.003 (1.000-1.006), P = 0.039], and hospital length of stay [OR = 1.195 (1.004-1.367), P = 0.010]. For 90-day readmission, operative time [OR = 1.004 (1.001-1.007), P = 0.023] and tumor stage [OR = 1.966 (1.140-3.389), P = 0.015] emerged as multivariate predictors. Patients whose resection included a plastic surgeon experienced similar primary outcomes despite these patients having expectedly longer operative times (220 ± 182 versus 108 ± 67 minutes, P < 0.001) and hospital length of stay (3.99 ± 3.69 versus 1.36 ± 1.97 days, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Plastic surgeon involvement emerged as a significant protector against 90-day wound healing complications. Cases that included plastic surgeons achieved similar complication rates in all categories relative to cases without plastic surgery intervention, despite greater operative time, hospital length of stay, and medical complications.

The role of patient advocates and sarcoma community initiatives in musculoskeletal oncology. Moving towards Evidence-Based Advocacy to empower Evidence-Based Medicine

Musculoskeletal sarcomas are rare cancers that as the whole family of sarcomas pose several challenges at different levels, ranging from medical knowledge to clinical research and policymaking. Addressing these challenges, necessarily calls for the inclusion of patient perspective inside the decision-making processes of every area that contributes to treatment improvement, from the provision of high-quality services by healthcare organisations to research issues. Without patient-provided inputs to inform decisions, the current paradigm of patient-centred care makes no sense and sounds at the least irrational if not unethical. Putting PROMs on "centre stage" in cancer research and care, could allow to build a truly Evidence Based Advocacy (EBA) and therefore to empower Evidence Based Medicine (EBM).

Time to Functional Outcome Optimization After Musculoskeletal Tumor Resection

Background

There is ample literature describing surgical outcomes after oncologic musculoskeletal tumor surgery, however, there is limited understanding of the time to optimization of functional outcome scores after resection. The purpose of this study was to identify the time to functional outcome optimization of Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scores after surgery for bone and soft tissue tumors and to identify factors correlated with recovery.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 187 patients from April 2016 to May 2021 that had undergone surgical treatment for musculoskeletal tumors. We assessed MSTS scores to determine the time to optimization and evaluated patient-specific and surgical factors for any influence on post-operative recovery.

Results

The majority of patients (92%) achieved their optimized score in one year or less. Eighty-two percent achieved the maximum MSTS score of 30. Osseous tumors, malignancy, adjuvant treatment with radiation and/or chemotherapy, deep location for soft tissue tumors, and bony work required for soft tissue tumors all significantly impacted time to MSTS score optimization.

Conclusion

The majority of patients with musculoskeletal tumors undergoing surgery can be expected to improve up to one year postoperatively. Those with bone tumors, malignant tumors, treatment with radiation and/or chemotherapy, deep soft tissue tumors, and bony work for soft tissue tumors can expect to have a longer recovery time and are at higher risk for not achieving premorbid functionality.

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Italian Version of the Bt-DUX: A Subjective Measure of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Who Underwent Surgery for Lower Extremity Malignant Bone Tumour

The purpose of this study was to translate the English bone tumour DUX (Bt-DUX-Eng) questionnaire for lower extremity bone tumour patients, a disease-specific quality of life (QoL) instrument, into Italian and then examine the validity of the Italian version of Bt-DUX (Bt-DUX-It). The adaptation and translation process included forward translation, back-translation, and a review of the back-translation by an expert committee. The Bt-DUX-It was validated in a sample of adolescents treated for lower extremity osteosarcoma in Italy. Assessments included the Bt-DUX, the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS), and the European Organization for Research and Treatment Core Quality of Life Questionnaire of Cancer Patients (EORTC QLQ-C30). Fifty-one patients with a median age of 20 years (range: 15-25) completed the questionnaires. The mean Bt-DUX score was 70 (range: 16.30-100). The internal consistency of the overall score and that of the Bt-DUX-It was good: Cronbach's α was 0.95. Spearman's correlation coefficient between the Bt-DUX (total and domain scores) and EORTC QLQ C30 and TESS were overall moderate to good, reaching a p-value <0.01 in all cases. The Bt-DUX-It version is a useful tool for measuring QoL in patients with bone tumour and has similar internal consistency, construct validity, and discrimination as those of the Dutch and English versions.

The Nomogram for Early Death in Patients with Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the early mortality rate and associated factors for early death in bone and soft tissue tumors, and to construct predictive nomogram. Methods: Patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) dataset were enrolled. The early death (survival time ≤ 3 months) rate was calculated and associated risk factors were evaluated by the logistic regression models. The significant factors were used to construct predictive nomograms. Results: A total of 2,003 (8.5%) patients died within 3 months after cancer diagnosis, among whom 1,146 (4.9%) patients died from cancer-specific cause. Older age (19-50 and >50 years), grade (III and IV), reginal or distant stage were associated with higher odds of total, cancer-specific and non-cancer-specific early death. T2 stage, metastasis to brain and lung were risk factors for total and cancer-specific early death. Surgical interventions significantly decreased the odds of total, cancer-specific and non-cancer-specific early death. Female and black race were associated with lower odds of non-cancer-specific early death. The area under the curve (AUC) of the nomograms for total early death, cancer-specific and non-cancer-specific early death prediction was 88.0%, 89.0% and 83.2%, respectively. Conclusions: A total of 8.5% patients with bone and soft tissue tumors suffered early death. Several risk factors were associated with higher odds of early death while surgery can decrease the possibility of early death. Nomograms based on all related factors can be used to estimate the early death in bone and soft tissue tumors.