MRI of Soft-Tissue Tumors: What to Include in the Report.

MRI serves as a critical step in the workup, local staging, and treatment planning of extremity soft-tissue masses. For the radiologist to meaningfully contribute to the management of soft-tissue masses, they need to provide a detailed list of descriptors of the lesion outlined in an organized report. While it is occasionally possible to use MRI to provide a diagnosis for patients with a mass, it is more often used to help with determining the differential diagnosis and planning of biopsies, surgery, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy (when provided).

Sarcoma microenvironment cell states and ecosystems are associated with prognosis and predict response to immunotherapy.

Characterization of the diverse malignant and stromal cell states that make up soft tissue sarcomas and their correlation with patient outcomes has proven difficult using fixed clinical specimens. Here, we employed EcoTyper, a machine-learning framework, to identify the fundamental cell states and cellular ecosystems that make up sarcomas on a large scale using bulk transcriptomes with clinical annotations. We identified and validated 23 sarcoma-specific, transcriptionally defined cell states, many of which were highly prognostic of patient outcomes across independent datasets.

Assessment of the Interval to Diagnosis in Pediatric Bone Sarcoma.

Objectives: The timely diagnosis of primary bone malignancies in pediatric patients is critical to clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the initial presentation of pediatric bone sarcoma patients to an academic health care system and assess the current interval to diagnosis.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of pediatric patients (aged 1-18) with biopsy-proven diagnosis of osteosarcoma or Ewing sarcoma presenting between 2004 and 2020.

Management of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Desmoid Tumors in a First-Line Setting.

The initial management of desmoid tumors (DTs) is shifting from surgery towards active surveillance, with systemic and locally ablative treatments reserved for enlarging and/or symptomatic disease. However, it remains unclear which patients would benefit most from an initial conservative rather than interventional approach. To answer this question, we retrospectively analyzed adult and pediatric patients with DTs treated at a tertiary academic cancer center between 1992 and 2022.

Local Control Outcomes Using Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy or Surgical Resection for Metastatic Sarcoma.

Purpose: Traditional management of metastatic sarcoma primarily relies on systemic therapy, with surgery often used for tumor control. We analyzed the rates of recurrence, overall survival, and treatment complications in patients undergoing either surgical resection or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for metastatic sarcoma of the bone and/or soft tissue.

Methods And Materials: The records of patients with metastatic sarcoma between 2009 and 2020 were reviewed.

Health Literacy and Patient Participation in Shared Decision-Making in Orthopedic Surgery.

The influence of health literacy on involvement in decision-making in orthopedic surgery has not been analyzed and could inform processes to engage patients. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between health literacy and the patient's preferred involvement in decision-making. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study of patients presenting to a multispecialty orthopedic clinic.

Metastatic Pattern of Truncal and Extremity Leiomyosarcoma: Retrospective Analysis of Predictors, Outcomes, and Detection.

Leiomyosarcomas (LMS) are a heterogenous group of malignant mesenchymal neoplasms with smooth muscle origin and are classified as either non-uterine (NULMS) or uterine (ULMS). Metastatic pattern, prognostic factors, and ideal staging/surveillance studies for truncal and extremity LMS have not been defined. A retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with histopathology-confirmed truncal or extremity LMS between 2009 and 2019 was conducted.

MR Imaging of Benign Soft Tissue Tumors: Highlights for the Practicing Radiologist.

The overwhelming majority of soft tissue masses encountered on routine imaging are incidental and benign. When incidental, the radiologist is usually limited to routine MR imaging sequences, often without contrast. In these situations, there are typical imaging features pointing to a single diagnosis or limited differential diagnosis.

Ferumoxytol magnetic resonance imaging detects joint and pleural infiltration of bone sarcomas in pediatric and young adult patients.

Background: The diagnosis of joint infiltration by a malignant bone tumor affects surgical management. The specificity of standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosing joint infiltration is limited. During our MRI evaluations with ferumoxytol nanoparticles of pediatric and young adult patients with bone sarcomas, we observed a surprising marked T1 enhancement of joint and pleural effusions in some patients but not in others.

National Metrics Improved Timeliness of Antibiotic Administration for Open Extremity Fractures.

Introduction: Antibiotics have been shown to be an essential component in the treatment of open extremity fractures. The American College of Surgeons' Trauma Quality Improvement Program, based on a committee of physician leaders including orthopaedic trauma surgeons, publishes best-practice guidelines for the management of open fractures. Accordingly, it established the tracking of antibiotic timing as a metric with a plan to use that metric before trauma center site reviews.

The Importance of Concordance Between Patients and Their Subspecialists.

Concordance, the concept of patients having shared demographic/socioeconomic characteristics with their physicians, has been associated with improved patient satisfaction and outcomes in primary care but has not been studied in subspecialty care. The objective of this study was to investigate whether patients value concordance with their specialty physicians. The authors assessed the importance of concordance in subspecialist care in 2 cohorts of participants.

Soft tissue pathology for the radiologist: a tumor board primer with 2020 WHO classification update.

Radiologists serve an important role in the diagnosis and staging of soft tissue tumors, often through participation in multidisciplinary tumor board teams. While an important function of the radiologist is to review pertinent imaging and assist in the differential diagnosis, a critical role is to ensure that there is concordance between the imaging and the pathologic diagnosis. This requires a basic understanding of the pathology of soft tissue tumors, particularly in the case of diagnostic dilemmas or incongruent imaging and histologic features.

Outcomes for pediatric patients with osteosarcoma treated with palliative radiotherapy.

Background: Few studies have addressed the efficacy of palliative radiotherapy (RT) for pediatric osteosarcoma (OS), a disease generally considered to be radioresistant. We describe symptom relief, local control, and toxicity associated with palliative RT among children with OS.

Procedure: Patients diagnosed with OS at age 18 and under and treated with RT for palliation of symptomatic metastases or local recurrence at the primary site from 1997 to 2017 were included.

Ferumoxytol Does Not Impact Standardized Uptake Values on PET/MR Scans.

Purpose: Tumor response assessments on positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans require correct quantification of radiotracer uptake in tumors and normal organs. Historically, MRI scans have been enhanced with gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agents, which are now controversial due to brain deposition. Recently, ferumoxytol nanoparticles have been identified as an alternative to Gd-based contrast agents because they provide strong tissue enhancement on MR images but are not deposited in the brain.

The Association of Financial Distress With Disability in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Introduction: Increased out-of-pocket costs have led to patients bearing more of the financial burden for their care. Previous work has shown that financial burden and distress can affect outcomes, symptoms, satisfaction, and adherence to treatment. We asked the following questions: (1) Does patients' financial distress correlate with disability in patients with nonacute orthopaedic conditions? (2) Do patient demographic factors affect this correlation?

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, observational study of new patients presenting to a multispecialty orthopaedic clinic with a nonacute orthopaedic complication.

Patient Perceptions Correlate Weakly With Observed Patient Involvement in Decision-making in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Background: Shared decision-making between patients and physicians involves educating the patient, providing options, eliciting patient preferences, and reaching agreement on a decision. There are different ways to measure shared decision-making, including patient involvement, but there is no consensus on the best approach. In other fields, there have been varying relationships between patient-perceived involvement and observed patient involvement in shared decision-making.

Staging of Bone and Soft-tissue Sarcomas.

The purpose of staging in orthopaedic oncology is to provide a framework for classifying tumors based on their risk of local recurrence and distant metastasis to guide treatment decisions. Two separate systems are commonly used to categorize bone and soft-tissue sarcomas. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society system for bone sarcomas and the Enneking system for soft-tissue sarcomas are the original staging systems developed by orthopaedic surgeons.

Conservative management of desmoid tumors is safe and effective.

Background: Surgical resection of desmoid tumors has traditionally been the mainstay of therapy, but this is a potentially morbid approach with high rates of recurrence. Given increasing reports of active surveillance in this disease, we sought to evaluate our experience with conservative management hypothesizing this would be an effective strategy.

Materials And Methods: Using a prospectively maintained database of sarcoma patients from 2008 to 2015, we identified 47 patients with a diagnosis of desmoid tumor from all anatomic sites.

Benign bone tumors.

Benign bone lesions are a broad category that demonstrates a spectrum of activities from latent to aggressive. Differentiating the various tumors is important in order to properly determine necessary intervention. This chapter focuses on the presentation, imaging, diagnostic features, and treatment of the most common benign bone tumors in order to help guide diagnosis and management.

Emerging concepts in upper extremity trauma: humeral shaft fractures.

Fractures of the humeral shaft are common in low-energy and high-energy trauma, and optimal clinical management remains controversial. Nonsurgical management has been supported as the preferred treatment based on high union rates and minimal functional deficit due to a rich vascular supply from overlying muscle and the wide motion available at the glenohumeral joint. Recent studies of nonoperative management have challenged surgeons' understanding of these fractures and the perception of favorable outcomes.

Humeral shaft fractures.

Management of humeral shaft fractures has historically been largely conservative. A significant body of literature, dating back to the 1970s, has shown that functional bracing may achieve greater than 90 % union rates and acceptable functional outcomes. More recently, however, with the advent of new surgical techniques and implant options, less tolerance for acceptable deformity and functional deficits, and less patience with conservative management, many treating orthopaedic surgeons are increasingly likely to consider surgical intervention.