Gilles Missenard

Knee reconstruction with prosthesis and muscle flap after total arthrectomy

A massive prosthesis and medial gastrocnemius muscle transfer were used to reconstruct the knee after extracapsular en bloc excision for bone sarcoma. Magnetic resonance images showed intraarticular involvement. This technique was used in nine patients, six men and three women aged 18 to 51 years, with primary malignant bone tumors of the knee. Extraarticular resection of the knee, including the patella, was done in every case. A knee prosthesis was implanted, and the extensor mechanism was reconstructed by transfer of the medial gastrocnemius muscle and pes anserinus tendons. All resections had negative margins. There were no local recurrences, but metastases occurred in two patients. Infection was the only major complication and was seen in two patients. The mean postoperative Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score was 61% (range, 36%–100%). The mean postoperative range of flexion was 62° (range, 30°–90°), and the mean extensor lag was 12° (range, 0°–40°). Three patients required a crutch to walk. The functional outcome was poor in the two patients whose proximal tibia was removed with the joint, suggesting that arthrodesis may be best in this situation. In properly selected patients, prosthesis and muscle flap reconstruction provides acceptable function and a good cosmetic result.

Management of osteogenic sarcoma in children and adolescents.

The management of osteogenic sarcoma in children has made a fantastic step on the survival rate, but there still remains unexpected late metastatic recurrence even in initially good responders to chemotherapy and lower survival rate in the bad responder group. Therefore, the research on etiology and on the understanding and rating of oncologic power of the tumoral cells as well as other kinds of treatment (vaccine, immunotherapy, and other types of chemotherapy) must be increased. The initial function after replacement is good and is often excellent but increasing deterioration is noticed during each follow-up evaluation. A considerable effort is still to be done for bone and joint replacement. Biocompatible material with mechanical strength and resistance to wear will be used for a long time because of the young age of the patients. There must be better use and understanding of the allograft revascularization, as well as a better biologic connection between the bone host and replacement device. This will probably be used in the future with less cement and more of a modular system. The final prognosis will remain for a long time in the perfect cooperation between the various members of the teams (oncologist, surgeon, imager, pathologist, and research team) who treat the patients.

Postoperative radiotherapy in the management of adult soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities: results with two different total dose, fractionation, and overall treatment time schedules.

PURPOSE This retrospective study was performed to evaluate two postoperative radiotherapy schedules in terms of dose, fractionation, and overall treatment time in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of the extremities. METHODS AND MATERIALS Between January 1984 and December 1993, 62 patients with newly diagnosed localized STS of the extremities were treated with maximal conservative surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (RT). Forty-five patients received 50 Gy with conventional fractionation plus a boost dose (5 to 20 Gy). Seventeen patients had hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (HFART) up to a dose of 45 Gy in 3 weeks. RESULTS With a median follow-up of 72 months, the 5-year local failure rate was 25%, the 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates were respectively 42% and 62%. The 3-year local relapse, disease-free, and overall survival rates were respectively 16%, 44%, and 70% in the conventional radiotherapy group, and 36%, 47%, and 82% in the HFART group (NS). No factor significantly influenced local control with a trend, however, in favor of conventional RT (p = 0.10). CONCLUSION HFART at the dose of 45 Gy does not seem to be superior to the standard RT schedule, neither in terms of local control, survival, nor in terms of long-term side effects. However this dose could be considered too low as well as the power of comparison between the two groups to draw definitive conclusions.

Management of cancer in pregnancy: A case of Ewing's sarcoma of the pelvis in the third trimester

Ewings sarcoma of the pelvic bones was diagnosed in a 21-year childbearing woman, raising major medical and ethical problems. The diagnostic and therapeutic approaches during the sixth month of gestation were tailored in order to cure the patient and avoid unnecessary toxicity to the fetus. Ancillary tests included ultrasound and MRI studies of the pelvis. Ifosfamide and adriamycin, premedicated by granisetron, were administered during gestation, and were found to be safe. Cesarean section was the preferred way of delivery since the tumor involved the pelvic bones. The outcome was a disease-free patient and a small healthy baby who is now two years of age.

Surgical excision of bone sarcomas involving the sacroiliac joint.

Each author certifies that his institution has approved or waived approval for the human protocol for this investigation and that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research. Correspondence to: Charles Court, MD, Hôpital Bicêtre, 78, rue du Général Leclerc, 94270 le Kremlin Bicêtre Cedex, France. Phone: 033-1-45-21-34-92; Fax: 033-1-45-21-22-50; E-mail: charles.court@bct.ap-hop-paris.fr. Adequate (wide or marginal and uncontaminated) margins and reconstruction are difficult to achieve when performing an internal hemipelvectomy for bone sarcomas involving the sacroiliac joint. We evaluated whether adequate surgical margins could be achieved and if functional outcomes could be predicted based on the type of resection and reconstruction. Forty patients had resections of the sacroiliac joint. Vertical sacral osteotomies were through the sacral wing (n = 2), ipsilateral sacral foramina (n = 27), sacral midline (n = 9), or contralateral foramina (n = 2). Iliac resections were Type I, Type I-II with partial or total acetabular re-section, or Type I-II-III. Surgical margins were adequate in 28 of 38 patients (74%), two (7%) of whom experienced local recurrence, compared with seven of 10 (70%) patients with inadequate margins. Reconstruction consisted of restoring continuity between the spine and pelvis. Resection of the entire acetabulum and removal of the lumbosacral trunk were the two main determinants of function, as assessed using the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score. There were no life-threatening or function-threatening complications. Internal hemipelvectomy with a limb salvage procedure can be achieved with adequate surgical margins in selected patients. Functional outcomes can be predicted based on the type of resection and reconstruction, which helps the surgeon plan the procedure and inform the patient.Level of Evidence: Level IV Therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Local control after surgical treatment of spinal metastatic disease

Surgery was carried out on 118 patients with spinal metastatic diseases; 80 operations were palliative and 38 were curative. All patients who survived 1 year or more and all those who had local recurrence before dying (total n=58) were included in this study. The aim of the study was to identify the factors that determine the success of local control in order to develop a new technique that could prevent local recurrence. From among the different factors that may influence the oncological result, a retrospective study concentrated particularly on the following items: sex of the patient, location and extension of the tumor on the spine, tumor involvement on the vertebra itself, and quality of tumor excision. These factors seem to have no or little influence on local control. However, sensitivity of the primary cancer to adjuvant treatments (e.g., chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonotherapy) and correct timing of the radiation therapy, which must be performed after, rather than before, surgery, seem to improve local control significantly. The authors therefore suggest two options for treatment. When the primary cancer is sensitive to adjuvant treatments, ‘palliative’ surgery with posterior fixation and nerve decompression seems sufficient to attain good function and adequate oncological results. On the other hand, when the primary cancer is resistant to adjuvant treatment or when the lesion recurs after radiation therapy, more aggressive surgery must be carried out. Complete excision of the tumor after embolization, with may be even associated local chemotherapy, is required. However, even when this is carried out, local control is difficult to achieve.

Long-term outcomes of en bloc resection of non-small cell lung cancer invading the thoracic inlet and spine.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to determine whether en bloc resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading the thoracic inlet (TI) and spine can provide good long-term outcomes. METHODS We studied 54 consecutive patients treated with en bloc resection of NSCLC invading the TI and spine between 1992 and 2009 at our center. There were 36 men and 18 women with a mean age of 51 years (range, 37 to 71 years). Tumor resection involved at least 2 vertebral levels. We divided the patients into 3 groups based on whether vertebral invasion involved the transverse process only, the intervertebral foramina, requiring hemivertebrectomies with spinal fixation, or the vertebral body, requiring total vertebral body resection with spinal fixation. RESULTS Induction chemotherapy was given to 27 (50%) patients including 3 who also received induction radiotherapy. Nine (17%) patients were in the transverse process group, 42 (78%) in the intervertebral foramina group, and 3 (6%) in the vertebral body group. Resection involved the subclavian artery in 19 (35%) patients. Complete resection was achieved in 49 (91%) patients. There were no perioperative deaths or residual neurologic impairments. Recurrence occurred in 31 (57%) patients and was local (n=6), systemic (n=24), or both (n=1). Local recurrence was more common in patients with N2-3 disease (p=0.0008) and subclavian artery involvement (p=0.031). There was a nonsignificant increase in local recurrence in patients with positive resection margins (40% vs 10%, p=0.058). The 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 82%, 31%, and 31%, respectively. The 1-, 5- and 10-year disease-free survival rates were 63%, 28%, and 28%, respectively. Five patients are alive and free of disease 10 years after surgery. By multivariate analysis, factors that independently affected survival were incomplete (R1) resection (p=0.006; odds ratio 67; 95% confidence interval 1.5 to 11.3) and subclavian artery involvement (p=0.037; odds ratio 0.46; 95% confidence interval 0.2 to 0.9). CONCLUSIONS Good long-term survival can be achieved in highly selected patients with NSCLC invading the TI and spine, provided complete en bloc resection is performed.

Interest of Denosumab for the Treatment of Giant-cells Tumors and Aneurysmal Bone Cysts of the Spine. About Nine Cases.

Study Design. A prospective cohort study. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interest of denosumab in the treatment of spinal giant-cells tumors (GCTs) and aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs). Summary of Background Data. To treat GCTs and ABCs, surgical resection remains the best treatment to limit local recurrence (LR) but constitutes an aggressive treatment with potential morbidity. Denosumab, a human antibody anti-RankL, inhibiting the differentiation of osteoclasts, could be an alternative treatment to avoid aggressive surgery. Methods. Patients suffering from GCTs and ABCs of the spine were included. Patients received a monthly subcutaneous injection of denosumab (120 mg) during a minimum of 6 months either as a neoadjuvant or as an adjuvant therapy. In association with denosumab, an osteosynthesis was added in case of vertebral fracture and a laminectomy in case of spinal cord compression. Clinical and computed tomography (CT)-scan outcomes were analyzed. Results. Eight GCTs and one ABC were included. The mean age was 35 years (range: 22–55 yr). Five patients had neurologic deficit. All patients were operated: six osteosynthesis, one “en bloc” resection, four curettages, and two of them associated with an osteosynthesis. Average duration of denosumab therapy was 12.9 months (range: 3.2–24 months). Among them, four patients began denosumab 6 months at least before the surgery. With a mean follow-up of 19.3 months (range: 3.2–52.4 months), back pain and neurologic deficit improved for all patients. Systematic CT-scan at 6 months showed decrease of tumor size and bone consolidation. Regarding patients treated by neoadjuvant denosumab treatment, intraoperative histologic analysis showed an absence of giant cells and a maximum of 10% of alive tumor cells. Conclusion. Denosumab allows bone formation and tumor regression with a maximum efficacy after 6 months of treatment without widely substituting surgery. Long-term results are mandatory to confirm the interest of denosumab and to evaluate LR when stopping denosumab. Level of Evidence: 3

Preoperative imaging study of the spinal cord vascularization: Interest and limits in spine resection for primary tumors

The necessicity to localize the anterior spinal arteries before anterior approach of the spine stays controversial by orthopaedic surgeons. On the other hand the surgical treatment of thoracoabdominal aneurisms routinely sacrifices many segmental arteries pairs without spinal arteries localization. This, associated with spinal cord protection, results to few neurological complication. However, during vertebrectomies, the roots ligation completely interrupts the spinal cord blood supply at this level. In our experience the spinal arteries localization was systematically done before ninety-eight spine resections. In five cases an anterior radiculomedullary artery was ligated (four anterior radiculomedullary and one great anterior radiculomedullary arteries) without neurological complication, in two cases of extended resection (more than four levels) a neurological complication occurred. No spinal artery was identified at the resection level and the neurological complications were resolutive and did not seem related to definitive vascular problem. These accomplishments lead to discuss the importance of spinal arteries localization and preservation in this surgery. The discovery of an anterior radiculomedullary artery is not a contraindication to en-bloc vertebrectomy at this level, nevertheless in the case of great anterior radiculomedullary artery (Adamkiewicz) the surgical indication must be seriously debated. In fact, this case and those where multilevel resections (more than three levels) are indicated seem the most dangerous situations and the use of the different means of spinal cord protection could be indicated to decrease neurological risk. So before spine resection the spinal arteries localization could improve patient information and give more deciding factors for planning treatment.

How to read a pathology report of a bone tumor.

The interpretation of a biopsy specimen involving bone is one of the most challenging feats for a pathologist, as it is often difficult to distinguish between benign or reactive lesions and malignant tumors on microscopic analysis. Therefore, correlation with the clinical data and imaging is essential and sometimes it is only the evolution of certain characteristics over time or information garnered from molecular analysis that can provide an accurate diagnosis. The pathology report is critical in that it will define subsequent patient management; its wording must precisely reflect those elements that are known with certainty and those that are diagnostic hypotheses. It must be systematic, thorough, and complete and should not be limited to a simple conclusion. The pathologist must first ensure the completeness and correct transcription of the information provided with the specimen, then describe and analyze the histology as well as the quality and representative nature of the sample (as they relate to the radiographic findings and preliminary/final diagnoses), and finally, compare what is seen under the microscope with the assessment made by the radiologist and/or surgeon. This analysis helps to identify difficult cases requiring further consultation between the radiologist and pathologist. There are multiple reasons for misinterpretation of a pathology report. An important and largely underestimated reason is varied interpretations of terms used by the pathologist. Standardized pathology reports with concise phrases as well as multidisciplinary meetings may limit errors and should be encouraged for optimal diagnostic accuracy.