Publications by authors named "Valerae Lewis"

Case: A 72-year-old woman with undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of the thigh received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She underwent wide resection and was scheduled for prophylactic fixation of the femur. However, prophylactic fixation was deferred secondary to COVID-19 pandemic.

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Introduction: In this study, we evaluate the association between sociodemographics and disease presentation, treatment, and survival for children, adolescents, and young adults with Ewing sarcoma.

Methods: Case-level data were downloaded from The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Cases included patients ages 0-24 who were diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma between 2004 and 2020.

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Article Synopsis
  • Traditional functional assessment tools for orthopaedic oncology are lengthy, leading to survey fatigue in patients and lacking sensitivity to detect significant differences in mobility, particularly for those who can't perform vigorous activities.
  • This study aimed to create a shorter, effective tool based on established surveys to better capture functional differences among these patients.
  • The researchers collected data from a specific patient group to evaluate the responsiveness, precision, and accuracy of the new concise tool compared to existing measures like the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score and the Lower Extremity Functional Scale.
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Disruptive physician behavior has become a common problem in medicine. Individuals who conduct themselves in a manner that could negatively affect patient care, or "disruptive physicians," frequently cause stress for patients and staff, are a headache for leadership, and can require expensive remediation. We suggest that rather than "bad apples," many disruptive physicians are the fruit of a "toxic tree.

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Three-dimensional (3D)-printed custom pelvic implants have become a clinically viable option for patients undergoing pelvic cancer surgery with resection of the hip joint. However, increased clinical utilization has also necessitated improved implant durability, especially with regard to the compression screws used to secure the implant to remaining pelvic bone. This study evaluated six different finite element (FE) screw modeling methods for predicting compression screw pullout and fatigue failure in a custom pelvic implant secured to bone using nine compression screws.

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Background: Moderately hypofractionated, preoperative radiotherapy in patients with soft tissue sarcomas (HYPORT-STS; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03819985) investigated a radiobiologically equivalent, moderately hypofractionated course of preoperative radiotherapy (RT) 15 × 2.85 Gy in patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS).

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Background: Two-stage revision for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in patients who have undergone segmental replacement of the distal femur or proximal tibia after tumor resection can be associated with considerable morbidity, pain, and risk of complications because the procedure often results in removal of long, well-fixed stems from the diaphysis. A less-aggressive surgical approach, such as debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR), may be attractive to patients and surgeons because of less morbidity, but the likelihood of eradicating infection in comparison to the traditional two-stage revision is not well established for oncology patients. Furthermore, the relative risk of subsequent amputation for DAIR versus two-stage revision has not been defined for this population.

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Lung metastases are the primary cause of death for osteosarcoma (OS) patients. We recently validated interleukin-11 receptor α (IL-11Rα) as a molecular target for the inhibition of OS lung metastases. Since there is no clinically approved antibody against this receptor, we sought to identify downstream targets that mediate the effects of IL-11Rα signaling.

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Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) bone metastatis progression is driven by crosstalk between tumor cells and the bone microenvironment, which includes osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes. RCC bone metastases (RCCBM) are predominantly osteolytic and resistant to antiresorptive therapy. The molecular mechanisms underlying pathologic osteolysis and disruption of bone homeostasis remain incompletely understood.

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Objectives: This study investigates retreatment rates in single-fraction radiation therapy (SFRT) for painful bone metastasis in patients with limited life expectancy. We compared retreatment-free survival (RFS) in patients from a rapid access bone metastases clinic (RABC) and non-RABC patients, identifying factors associated with retreatment.

Methods: In this observational study, we analysed RABC patients who received SFRT between April 2018 and November 2019, using non-RABC SFRT patients as a comparison group.

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Surgical planning and custom prosthesis design for pelvic cancer patients are challenging due to the unique clinical characteristics of each patient and the significant amount of pelvic bone and hip musculature often removed. Limb-sparing internal hemipelvectomy surgery with custom prosthesis reconstruction has become a viable option for this patient population. However, little is known about how post-surgery walking function and neural control change from pre-surgery conditions.

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Introduction: Pelvic metastasis is a common presentation among patients presenting with skeletal metastasis. Image-guided percutaneous cementation of these lesions is becoming increasingly popular for the treatment of these lesions. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review that investigates clinical outcomes after percutaneous cementation for pelvic metastasis.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The Birmingham Orthopaedic Oncology Meeting in January 2024 gathered 300 experts from over 50 countries to reach global consensus on chondrosarcoma treatment and address challenges related to periprosthetic joint infection in cancer surgeries.
  • * The meeting aimed to not only resolve current controversies but also to encourage collaboration among specialists for future research that could improve patient outcomes worldwide.
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  • A randomized phase 2 trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies (nivolumab and nivolumab/ipilimumab) in patients with resectable retroperitoneal DDLPS and extremity/truncal UPS.
  • The primary endpoint of pathologic response showed a median hyalinization of 8.8% in DDLPS and 89% in UPS, with secondary endpoints focusing on immune changes and survival rates over time.
  • Results indicated that lower pre-treatment regulatory T cell densities correlated with better pathological outcomes, and that neoadjuvant ICB led to significant immune changes and benefits, particularly in patients with UPS when combined with radiation therapy
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Motorized intramedullary lengthening nails allow for transport of a bone segment for limb lengthening, deformity correction, healing of nonunion, and intercalary distraction osteogenesis. Resection of tumors involving the bone can result in substantial defects that require reconstruction. Use of these nails allows for a biologic reconstruction with the incorporation of allograft or by distraction osteogenesis.

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Introduction: Hypervascular tumors such as renal and thyroid carcinoma have a significant risk of intraoperative bleeding. To help mitigate bleeding, interventional preoperative embolization is traditionally used; however, it is success is highly variable. This is the first case report to discuss using expandable balloon implants with a minimally invasive approach to achieve fracture fixation and tamponade acute intraoperative bleeding.

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Purpose: Chondrosarcomas are the most common primary bone tumor in adults. Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and IDH2 mutations are prevalent. We aimed to assess the clinico-genomic properties of IDH mutant versus IDH wild-type (WT) chondrosarcomas as well as alterations in other genes.

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Background: Outcomes of targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) in the oncologic population are limited. We sought to examine the safety and effectiveness of TMR and RPNI in controlling postamputation pain in the oncologic population.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients who underwent oncologic amputation followed by immediate TMR or RPNI was conducted from November 2018 to May 2022.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the effectiveness and complications of cemented intercalary endoprosthetic reconstruction in 19 patients with metastatic lesions in long bones, focusing on patient survivorship and revision rates.
  • It aims to determine the cumulative incidence of revision for any reason, assess complications associated with the procedure, and evaluate functional outcomes using the MSTS93 score.
  • Findings show a range of patient ages, a median follow-up of 24 months, and highlight the prevalence of renal cell carcinoma among the cases studied.
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Background: Extremity reconstruction in skeletally immature patients presents unique challenges in terms of operative technique, bone healing, and limb function. A variety of insetting techniques have been described, with no clearly superior option. The authors hypothesized that vascularized fibula flaps placed in the intramedullary space are associated with shorter union times and better functionality compared with onlay flaps.

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Purpose: Developing new therapeutics for any of the more than 100 sarcoma subtypes presents a challenge. After progression from standard therapies, patients with sarcoma may be referred for enrollment in early-phase trials. This study aimed to investigate whether enrollment in biomarker-matched early-phase clinical trials leads to better outcomes for patients with advanced sarcoma.

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Internal hemipelvectomy without reconstruction of the pelvis is a viable treatment for pelvic sarcoma; however, the time it takes to return to excellent function is quite variable. Some patients require greater time and rehabilitation than others. To determine if psoas muscle recovery is associated with changes in ambulatory function, we retrospectively evaluated psoas muscle size and limb-length discrepancy (LLD) before and after treatment and their correlation with objective functional outcomes.

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