New fields in the patient record: A tool or a nuisance?

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Background: The Contemporary Oncology Team was the first practice in Greece to participate in the Quality in Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI). As a result, several corrective measures were designed and implemented to improve the quality of the services provided to patients. Methods: The plan-do-check-act approach was used to implement changes, primarily in the follow up form, over a period of 18 months. Several improvement opportunities were identified. 1.) A numerical scale for pain intensity quantification became a required field. 2.) Emotional well-being fields were added so the patient’s state could be documented by providers. 3.) Fertility assessment and counseling was added as a required field in the patient record. For this report we evaluated retrospectively the effect of these changes on our QOPI scores. Results: Contemporary Oncology Team QOPI scores after the implementation of the new forms have shown increased compliance, compared to QOPI aggregate scores for all participating US practices, in the areas related to the changes made. Specifically, pain assessment documentation improved from -54.56% to +9.96%. The use of a numerical tool proved invaluable to comparing pain intensity between different visits. Emotional well-being documentation improved from -42.55% to +18.26%. Fertility assessment documentation has not improved but this finding could be due to a decrease in patient chart sample size. Providers seemed to adapt quickly and without difficulty. Conclusions: Developing new fields in the patient record is an evolving process because it requires provider education and acquaintance with the new method of documentation. However, in this retrospective analysis it proved to be an effective method to improve provider compliance with assessment of pain and emotional well-being, and it is likely to be useful in other areas in need of improved documentation.

Imatinib in the treatment of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a soft tissue tumor with tendency to recur locally and only rarely metastasizes to vital organs. Surgery with wide margins remains the standard treatment. DFSP is characterized by specific chromosomal abnormalities involving the platelet derived growth factor B locus (PDGFB). In the majority of cases a supernumerary ring chromosome containing amplified t(17; 22) translocation or a linear unbalanced t(17; 22) containing the COL1A1 -PDGFB fusion gene is present. This molecular event causes aberrant expression of a functional PDGFB leading to activation of PDGFR. Imatinib mesylate is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with activity against activated PDGFR, and has significant activity against DFSP. Clinical evidence suggests that it has a role in locally advanced and metastatic disease and clinical trials are ongoing examining its role in this rare but potentially fatal sarcoma.

Sustained complete remission of metastatic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans with imatinib mesylate

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a soft tissue tumor which may recur locally and rarely causes metastases to vital organs. DFSPs have specific chromosomal abnormalities involving the platelet-derived growth factor beta-chain locus (PDGFB) which may render these tumors responsive to targeted therapy with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate. A patient with locally recurrent and metastatic DFSP resistant to first-line chemotherapy was treated with imatinib mesylate 400 mg/day. The tumor was examined by a novel fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method for specific rearrangements of the PDGFB locus. The patient was followed for response and toxicity by physical examination and imaging studies. FISH revealed PDGFB rearrangement indicative of multiplication of the PDGFB fusion locus within a ring chromosome. Physical examination showed response within the first month of treatment, and subsequent computed tomography and fluorodeoxyglycose positron emission tomography documented complete response to imatinib therapy. Our patient is now in sustained complete remission for 20 months with minimal toxicity. We conclude that sustained complete remission of metastatic DFSP with specific FISH abnormalities involving the PDGFB locus can be obtained with imatinib mesylate with minimal toxicity for the patient.