Preoperative and Postoperative Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Scores in Patients Treated for Benign Versus Malignant Soft Tissue Tumors

Background: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) assesses multiple aspects of patient well-being but has not been thoroughly studied amongst orthopedic oncology patients. Questions/purposes: How do preoperative/early postoperative PROMIS scores compare in patients with benign versus malignant soft tissue tumors (STTs) for (1) physical function, (2) pain interference, and (3) depression? Are the differences clinically relevant? What other patient/tumor factors impact PROMIS? Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 314 STT patients who underwent resection of a benign (n = 187) or malignant (n = 127) STT over a period of 4.25 years at a single institution. PROMIS physical function, pain interference, and depression scores were collected preoperatively and at two and six weeks postoperatively. Scores for each time point were compared between groups and to preoperative baselines. Backward-stepwise linear mixed-effects models were produced to identify independent predictors of change in each PROMIS domain. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was 4 points. Results: The malignant cohort, but not the benign cohort, demonstrated clinically relevant worsening of physical function postoperatively. Malignant diagnosis (△ = −4.4, p < 0.001) and lower extremity tumors (△ = −4.5, p < 0.001) were identified as clinically relevant, independent predictors of worse physical function at all time points. No predictors of clinically relevant changes in pain interference or depression scores, including malignancy, were identified. Conclusions: In STT patients, malignancy and lower extremity STT location are associated with clinically relevant worsening in physical function but do not significantly impact pain interference or depression in the early postoperative period. These findings may help establish the utility of PROMIS in an orthopedic oncology population.