A Systematic Review of the Recent Quality of Life Studies in Adult Extremity Sarcoma Survivors

Table 3

Summary of study design.

Reference	Study design/sample	Measures used	Timeframe of treatment
Eiser 2001 [17]	Retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma of the lower limb; 𝑁=37; Median age of diagnosis = 19 (7–37) years; Median time since diagnosis = 10 (2–33) years	SF-36; Body image instrument; TESS: daily competence; Use of analgesia and gait aids; Semistructured interview	1977–1995
Davis et al. 2002 [18]	Prospective randomized study of nonmetastatic extremity STS patients; Tumour size was dichotomized at 10 cm, then randomized to PreRT (𝑛=88) or PostRT (𝑛=94); 𝑁=182; MAD = 54.7 (18.8–93.8) years	MSTS87; TESS: primary measure: 10-point difference considered significant SF-36; Timepoints: baseline (at randomisation), 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery	1994–1997
Refaat et al. 2002 [19]	Retrospective study on patients with lower limb sarcoma; 𝑁=408; Amp 𝑛=66, LSS 𝑛=342; MAD = 47.5 years	Computer generated questionnaire	1972–1987
Rödl et al. 2002 [20]	Patients with high grade malignant bone tumours of distal femur that underwent rotationplasty; 𝑁=22; Mean followup = 12 (10–18) years; Median age at time of study = 28 (18–49) years	EORTC QLQ C-30FLZ; Education level
Zahlten-Hinguranage et al. 2004 [21]	Retrospective, cross-sectional study of patients with lower limb (excluding foot and ankle) sarcoma; 𝑁=124 (LSS 𝑛=102; Amp 𝑛=22); Mean age at assessment = 35 (14–76) years; Mean time from surgery = 46 (6–250) months	EORTC QLQ-C30; MSTS93; FLZ	1980–2000
Pardasaney et al. 2006 [11]	Retrospective comparative study on patients with sarcoma of the lower limb with at least 2-year followup; 𝑁=408 (Amp 𝑛=65, LSS 𝑛=343); Mean age at surgery = 40.36 (2–86) years; Mean time from treatment = 8.91 (2–27) years.	Computer generated quality of life questionnaire
Schreiber et al. 2006 [22]	Longitudinal study on nonmetastatic STS patients who had LSS; 𝑁=100; MAD = 55 (18–86) years	MSTS87; TESS; RNL; EQ-VAS; LOT; 2 timepoints: preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively	2001–2003
Thijssens et al. 2006 [23]	Retrospective cross-sectional study on survivors of locally advanced, nonmetastatic STS, who underwent isolated limb perfusion, with intentional delayed LSS; 𝑁=39 (LSS 𝑛=30, Amp 𝑛=9); Median age at perfusion = 49 (14–72) years; Median time since perfusion = 7 (1–13) years	IES; SF-36; Perception of involvement in decision Treatment satisfaction: 5-point Likert scale	1991–2003
Weiner et al. 2006 [24]	Cross-sectional study of long-term survivors of sarcoma; 𝑁=34; MAD = 16 (7–34 years); Mean age at study = 34 (17–54 years); Mean time from diagnosis = 18 (4–33 years)	Semi-structured interview; BSI (intensity of psychological distress); IES
Aksnes et al. 2008 [25]	Retrospective study on patients with osteosarcoma or Ewing’s sarcoma; 𝑁=118 (LSS 𝑛=67, Amp 𝑛=51); MAD = 18 (2–44) years; Mean time since diagnosis = 13 (6–22) years	SF-36; TESS; MSTS93	1982–2000
Davidge et al. 2009 [26]	Retrospective cohort study on adult patients with nonmetastatic extremity STS who underwent LSS; Outcome measures assessed at two time points: preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively; Categories collapsed to allow for sufficient powering; 𝑁=157	Outcome expectation questionnaire; MSTS87; TESS; RNL; EQ5D-VAS; LOT	2001–2005
Paredes et al. 2011 [27]	Cross-sectional descriptive study on sarcoma patients in different phases of disease; 𝑁=142; Dx  𝑛=42, mean time from diagnosis = 4.27 months; Rx  𝑛=37, mean time from diagnosis = 10.94 months, mean time from treatment = 9.34 months; Fx  𝑛=63, mean time since completion of treatment = 52.93 months; MAD = 48.32 years	HADS; Demographic and clinical questionnaire

STS: soft tissue sarcoma; PreRT: neoadjuvant radiation therapy; PostRT: adjuvant radiation therapy; MAD: mean age of diagnosis; Amp: amputation; LSS: limb sparing surgery; Dx: diagnosis phase; Rx: treatment phase (1st treatment, whether it was chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and/or surgery counted as index timepoint); Fx: followup phase.