Abstract
BackgroundLimited information is available about sports activities of survivors after resection and reconstruction of primary malignant bone tumors with megaprostheses. Because patients often ask what activities are possible after treatment, objective knowledge about sports activities is needed to help assess the risks of sports participation and to help guide patients’ expectations.Questions/purposesThe aims of this study were to evaluate (1) what proportion of patients with proximal-femoral megaprostheses placed as part of tumor reconstructions can perform sports; (2) what activity levels they achieved; and (3) whether sports activity levels are associated with an increased likelihood of revision.MethodsThis retrospective study considered all 27 living patients in our institutional tumor registry with enduring proximal-femoral reconstructions performed more than 5 years ago who were between the ages of 11 and 49 years at the time of the reconstruction; seven were lost to followup and one was excluded because of paraplegia as a result of a car accident and another because of senile dementia; another two were excluded from statistics because of growing prostheses and skeletal immaturity at the time of followup, leaving 16 (11 male, five female) for analysis. Their mean age was 26 ± 12 years (range, 11–49 years) at surgery, and the mean followup was 18 ± 7 years (range, 5–27 years). Types of sports, frequency per week, duration of each sports session as well as the UCLA and modified Weighted Activity Score were assessed retrospectively by an independent assessor a median of 18 years (range, 5.3–27 years) after surgery.ResultsPatients recalled that preoperatively 14 were practicing sports 5 (± 4) hours/week. At followup, 11 of the patients were practicing one or more sports activities 2 (± 3) hours/week on a regular basis. The preoperative UCLA and modified Weighted Activity Score levels of 9 and 6 fell to levels of 6 (p = 0.005) and 3 (p = 0.025), respectively, at followup. With the numbers of patients available for study, we could not determine that prosthetic failures were associated with sport activity levels.ConclusionsPatients who survive primary malignant bone tumors in the proximal femur reconstructed by megaprostheses are able to perform some sports activities. The estimates of activity levels made in this study probably are best-case estimates, given that some patients were lost to followup; patients unaccounted for might not be doing as well as those represented here. Also, the degree to which sports participation influences implant durability remains, for the most part, unanswered; studies with more patients and longer followup will be needed to determine to what degree prosthesis survivorship relates to sporting activity levels. Most patients perform low-impact sports and at a lower level than they had preoperatively. Because this is a preliminary study of a select group of patients, further information is necessary to weight the benefits of higher sports activity levels against potential risks. If this can be confirmed in a larger number of patients, the information may guide surgeons in their discussion with patients preoperatively and give them some objective assessment of what to expect regarding sports activities.Level of EvidenceLevel IV, therapeutic study.
Highlights
Patients and MethodsCurrent multimodality treatment of primary malignant bone sarcomas has improved patient survivorship to 70% to 80% in the long term
Patients who survive primary malignant bone tumors in the proximal femur reconstructed by megaprostheses are able to perform some sports activities
The proximal femur meta- and diaphysis are affected by a variety of primary bone sarcomas and these are relatively common skeletal sites for certain sarcomas [6, 14, 26, 32]
Summary
Current multimodality treatment of primary malignant bone sarcomas has improved patient survivorship to 70% to 80% in the long term. Apart from obvious benefits of this treatment, long-term survivors of bone sarcoma may not remain physically active, which could result in some patients acquiring a psychosocial deficit from inactivity [3]. Sports and exercise in patients with cancer may improve fitness and psychosocial health and be of benefit in cancer rehabilitation [29, 30]. Limited information is available about sports activities of survivors after resection and reconstruction of primary malignant bone tumors with megaprostheses. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research neither advocates nor endorses the use of any treatment, drug, or device. This work was performed at the Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
