Overview:
Jay Wunder, M.D., receives grant for hhe award-winning study…for patients with sarcoma.
To quote Jay Wunder, M.D., primary investigator for the award-winning study “The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society is probably the smallest specialty group within AAOS [American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons] and patients with sarcoma, which this grant is based on, are likely one of the smallest patient populations in all of orthopaedic surgery given the rarity of sarcoma.”
And yet, this small AAOS sub-speciality won the prestigious AAOS Board of Specialty Societies Research Support Fund $100,000 award (which was enhanced by a $10,000 contribution from the Sarcoma Strong Fund within the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society) for their work “Evaluating the Implementation, Utility, and Clinical Importance of the Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Information System (PROMIS) in Sarcoma Patients: A Multi-Centered Prospective Cohort Study.”
The award, which supports evidence-based research in musculoskeletal healthcare is granted on the basis of scientific merit as determined by the AAOS’s Scientific Review Group, a group consisting of AAOS members representing the AAOS Research and Quality Council, the Board of Specialty Societies and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation.
“Our research group was a bit surprised but certainly very excited to learn that we were the only recipient of this AAOS award across North America and across all the orthopaedic subspecialty societies,” Jay Wunder, M.D., primary investigator for the recognized study, told OTW.
Their work was sponsored by the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society.
Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto Canada led the study with an international and multicenter research group of investigators (Jay Wunder, Peter Ferguson, Kim Tsoi, Aaron Gazendam, Anthony Griffin), Mayo Clinic in Rochester USA (Matthew Houdek) and the University of Calgary, Calgary Canada (Joe Kendall).
“Physician-led research is crucial to advancing patient care in orthopaedics,” said AAOS Research and Quality Council Chair David S. Jevsevar, M.D., M.B.A. “The insights gained from this research provide valuable data on treatment approaches and help establish new perspective and standards of care for musculoskeletal conditions. Together with our partners at the orthopaedic specialty societies, we are excited to support this funding opportunity for a second year.”
This Sub-Specialty Has the PROMS and the PROMIS
“We have a very strong track record in patient reported outcomes research, having developed the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score which has been validated and is utilized around the world to describe and track patients’ functional recovery following surgical management of sarcomas,” explained Dr. Wunder.
“Sarcoma patients currently fill out numerous lengthy questionnaires at each clinic visit related to various aspects of their function and quality of life including the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score questionnaire. We utilize this wealth of prospective information to track their outcomes over time so we can provide subsequent patients with reliable estimates of what they can expect in terms of their anticipated extent of recovery and also timeline or how long it is expected for them to reach their maximal recovery.”
“PROMIS is a new iterative computer-based comprehensive assessment tool for patient-reported outcomes and covers multiple domains of health including physical, mental, and social well-being. PROMIS uses fewer items than conventional measures, thereby decreasing respondent burden. When used as computer-adaptive tests. And its scoring methodology helps to avoid floor and ceiling effects which often affect other outcome measures. It has been suggested that PROMIS may provide a more holistic and accurate view of a patient’s health status. However, its utility in sarcoma patients has yet to be defined.”
Access to Longitudinal PROMIS Data
“The main goal of this international research project is to record and evaluate longitudinal changes in PROMIS scores over time in sarcoma patients in order to map the postoperative course and determine the sensitivity of PROMIS to changes in patient function compared to the validated Toronto Extremity Salvage Score.”
“Our collaborators in Calgary have developed a multilingual smartphone-based app capable of administering the PROMIS along with collection of functional data including activity levels and gait so this new technology will also be administered to sarcoma patients and evaluated. Understanding barriers to PROMIS capture rates based on patient factors including age, gender, sex, race, socioeconomic status and geographic location will also be evaluated.”
“This study will provide valuable insights into the postoperative trajectory of patient-reported outcomes in bone and soft tissue sarcoma patients. This mapping with PROMIS and the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score will help clinicians understand the natural course of recovery and identify critical periods for intervention to optimize patient functional recovery and well-being.”
Awards for the funding cycle will be distributed immediately by the AAOS with the sponsoring organizations providing incremental funding for each project. The $100,000 award is also being enhanced by a $10,000 contribution from the Sarcoma Strong Fund within the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society.
