Evaluation of Planned versus Unplanned Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Resection Using PROMIS Measures

BACKGROUND: The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is a tool developed by the National Institutes of Health that allows comparisons across conditions or even the United States (U.S.) general population. OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to compare PROMIS outcomes between patients who underwent a planned resection to those who underwent an initial unplanned excision of their sarcoma followed by a definitive oncologic resection. We then compared these groups to the U.S. general population. METHODS: Eighty-five patients were included and were divided into those who underwent an initial planned resection (67) and unplanned excision (18). These patients were then further categorized based on the length of follow-up since their last surgery, either early (<12 months) or late (>12 months). RESULTS: We evaluated seven PROMIS domains and found no differences between patients who underwent planned resection versus those who underwent an initial unplanned excision followed by a wide resection of the previous wound bed. When compared to the U.S. population, both cohorts demonstrated significantly improved scores in several emotional health domains. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who undergo an unplanned excision followed by a definitive oncologic procedure have similar PROMIS scores compared to patients who undergo an initial planned resection.