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Establishment of a Primary Culture of Patient-derived Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Published on: April 11, 2018
Patient surveillance after treatment for soft-tissue sarcoma
Frank E Johnson1, Keita Sakata, Suchira Sarkar
1Department of Surgery, Saint Louis University Medical Center, 3635 Vista Avenue, P.O. Box 15250, St. Louis, MO 63110-0250, USA. frank.johnson1@va.gov
International Journal of Oncology
|November 27, 2010
Summary
Geographic factors rarely influence soft tissue sarcoma (STS) surveillance intensity after surgery. Other factors, like lack of evidence and insurance quality, likely explain variations in patient follow-up care.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Surgical Oncology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) constitute approximately 1% of all cancers, with a majority occurring in the extremities.
- Post-treatment surveillance aims to detect recurrence, new primary cancers, and therapy complications to improve survival and quality of life.
- Surgeon-dependent variations in surveillance intensity are common, prompting investigation into influencing factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that geographic factors significantly influence the intensity of postoperative surveillance strategies for soft tissue sarcomas.
- To analyze how practice location (US Census Region, Metropolitan Statistical Area) and managed care organization (MCO) penetration affect surveillance intensity.
Main Methods:
- A survey of 1,592 members of the Society of Surgical Oncology assessed postoperative STS surveillance strategies using clinical vignettes and questionnaires.
- Practice patterns were analyzed based on geographic factors including US Census Region, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), and MCO penetration rate.
- Repeated measures analysis of variance was employed to determine the impact of these factors on surveillance intensity.
Main Results:
- Surveillance intensity was strongly correlated with tumor size, grade, and time since surgery.
- Geographic factors had minimal impact on overall surveillance intensity when controlling for tumor characteristics and time post-surgery.
- MSA predicted office visit frequency; MCO penetration predicted urinalysis and MRI frequency; US Census Region predicted LFT frequency.
Conclusions:
- Geographic location does not generally predict self-reported surveillance practices for patients undergoing curative-intent STS surgery.
- Variations in surveillance intensity are likely attributable to factors not assessed, such as the absence of high-quality evidence and patient insurance quality.
