Quality of life of patients with proximal humerus metastasis treated with cement spacer

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to determine whether the surgery using cement spacer could improve the quality of life of patients with proximal humerus metastasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study. The study included 34 patients who had been treated for proximal humerus metastasis between January 2010 and June 2014. The patients were divided into surgical and non-surgical group depending on whether they underwent cement spacer surgery. The patient’s quality of life (QOL) assessment is scheduled at five points—at the initial diagnosis (baseline) and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months of follow-up. Evaluation tool is Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 34 patients, including 15 patients in the surgery group and 19 patients in the non-surgery group, were enrolled in this retrospective study. In the end, 22 patients finished all evaluations, including 11 patients in the surgical group and 11 patients in the non-surgery group. At the completion of the study, 22 patients had died, including 8 patients in the surgery group and 14 patients in the non-surgery group. After surgical using the cement spacer, the QOL scores of patients at each follow-up point were significantly higher than that of preoperative scores. These scores were also higher than those of the non-surgery group. CONCLUSION: The current study indicated that surgical treatment using the cement spacer could upgrade and maintain quality of life for patients with proximal humerus metastasis in the 9-month assessment.