Progressive Improvement in 5-Year Survival Rates for Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcomas from 1999 to 2019

Background. Extremity soft-tissue sarcoma (ESTS) is a group of rare, heterogeneous malignancies. Previous studies have demonstrated a progressive improvement in 5-year survival rate over time, but recent trends are unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to provide an update on the clinical characteristics and 5-year survival rate of ESTS from 1999 to 2019. Methods. This retrospective cohort study used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Overall, 5,654 patients over the age of 15 years with primary ESTS diagnosed between 1999 and 2019 were included. Data on patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and survival were extracted. Patients were grouped by year of diagnosis: 1999–2005, 2006–2012, and 2013–2019. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed. Results. ESTS occurred primarily in the lower extremity (76.1%) and was frequently grade III (58.3%), >5 cm in size (69.9%), and without metastasis (77.9%) at diagnosis. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the proportion of patients over age 60 (p<0.001) and without metastasis (p<0.001) over the study period. The 5-year survival rate successively improved, from 47% in 1999–2005, to 61% in 2006–2012, to 78% in 2013–2019. Similarly, in multivariate analysis, the mortality rate progressively declined from a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.4 in 1999–2005 to an HR of 2.1 in 2006–2012, with the 2013–2019 group having the best overall survival (p<0.001). Age, tumor size, grade, and metastasis were negative prognostic factors for survival; radiation and surgery were positive prognostic factors. Conclusions. The 5-year overall survival rate for ESTS progressively improved over the 20-year study period, perhaps due to an increasing proportion of older patients diagnosed with local disease. These findings may also be related to earlier detection or more effective treatment over the study period

Arthroscopic Onlay Articular Margin Biceps Tenodesis for Long Head of the Biceps Tendon Pathology

The long head of the biceps (LHB) tendon is a common source of shoulder pain. LHB tendon pathology typically occurs with concomitant rotator cuff or labrum injuries but can occasionally occur in isolation as biceps tendinopathy or rupture. Tenodesis has been increasingly used to treat LHB tendon pathology, and numerous techniques have been developed that vary in approach, fixation construct, and fixation location. In this Technical Note, we describe an arthroscopic onlay articular margin biceps tenodesis with suture anchors. This technique has several advantages, namely intra-articular visualization of the tenodesis, strong fixation to high density bone of the articular margin, and most importantly, preservation of the anatomic length–tension relationship

Congenic Strains Confirm the Pleiotropic Effect of Chromosome 4 QTL on Mouse Femoral Geometry and Biomechanical Performance.

A pleiotropic quantitative trait locus (QTL) for bone geometry and mechanical performance in mice was mapped to distal chromosome 4 via an intercross of recombinant congenic mice HcB-8 and HcB-23. To study the QTL in isolation, we have generated C3H.B10-(rs6355453-rs13478087) (C.B.4.3) and C3H.B10-(rs6369860-D4Mit170) (C.B.4.2) congenic strains that harbor ~20 Mb and ~3 Mb, respectively, of chromosome 4 overlapping segments from C57BL/10ScSnA (B10) within the locus on a C3H/DiSnA (C3H) background. Using 3-point bend testing and standard beam equations, we phenotyped these mice for femoral mid-diaphyseal geometry and biomechanical performance. We analyzed the results via 2-way ANOVA, using sex and genotype as factors. In the C.B.4.3 strain, we found that homozygous B10/B10 male mice had smaller cross sectional area (CSA) and reduced total displacement than homozygous C3H/C3H mice. Sex by genotype interaction was also observed for maximum load and stiffness for C3H/C3H and B10/B10 mice, respectively. In C.B.4.2 strain, we found that homozygous B10/B10 mice had lower total displacement, post-yield displacement (PYD), stiffness, yield load and maximum load than mice harboring C3H allele. Sex by genotype interaction was observed in B10/B10 mice for perimeter, outer minor axis (OMA) and CSA. There were no significant differences in tissue level mechanical performance, which suggest that the QTL acts primarily on circumferential bone size. These data confirm the prior QTL mapping data and support other work demonstrating the importance of chromosome 4 QTL on bone modeling and bone responses to mechanical loading

Effect of climbing activity on somatic and fitness characteristics in youth

Title: Effect of climbing activity on somatic and fitness characteristics in youth. Objectives: The aim of this thesis was to assess the effect of climbing activity on fitness (upper body strength) and somatic (body composition) changes in youth in real conditions. Methods: We had 91 children participating in this study, who were attending climbing course in the climbing center Praha Ruzyně. Their age was 10,4 ± 3,0 years in average and their climbing ability was on UIAA scale from 4 th to 7 th degree. We detected information about age, climbing experience, and actual climbing performance. Furthermore, we measured height, weight and body composition and we used the tests for measuring upper body strength: hand grip, bent-arm hang and finger hang. Results: Dependence between strength tests (average of three measurements) and climbing level of RP (UIAA) was not statistically confirmed. There was not found the influence of climbed meters to changes in each tests of strength. There was no change in the grip strength test in average, during the exercise intervention. In the bent-arm hang test and the finger hang test, there were significant changes that were not depending on climbing experience of children. Conclusions: In this study was not confirmed any of the above hypotheses. However, it was found..

Femoral Geometry of C.B.4.3 Mice.

<p>Femoral Geometry of C.B.4.3 Mice.</p

Femoral Geometry of C.B.4.2 mice.

<p>(A) Representative photographs of C.B.4.2 femur cross sections following 3-point bending test for each genotype. (B) The effects of sex and genotype on (I) perimeter, p = 0.015, sex by genotype interactions B10/B10 females < B10/B10 males; (II) OMJA, p < 0.001, sex differences across all genotypes, (III) OMA, p = 0.026, sex by genotype interactions B10/B10 females < B10/B10 males and genotype differences in B10/B10 females < C3H/B10 females, (IV) IMJA, p < 0.001, sex differences across all genotypes, and (V) IMA, no significant differences; (VI) CSA, p = 0.043, sex by genotype interaction B10/B10 females < B10/B10 males and genotype differences in B10/B10 females < C3H/B10 and C3H/C3H females (p = 0.045); (VII) Shape factor, p < 0.001, sex differences across all genotypes. Values are means ± SE.</p

Markers for C.B.4.3 and C.B.4.2.

<p>Markers for C.B.4.3 and C.B.4.2.</p

Femoral Geometry of C.B.4.3 Mice.

<p>(A) The representative photographs of C.B. 4.3 femur cross-sections following 3-point bending test for each genotype. (B) The effects of genotype on (I) Perimeter, p < 0.001, sex differences across all genotypes; (II) OMJA, p < 0.001 sex differences across all genotypes; (III) OMA, no significant differences; (IV) IMJA, p < 0.001, sex differences across all genotypes; (V) IMA, p < 0.001, sex differences across all genotypes; (VI) CSA, p = 0.016, B10/B10 and C3H/B10 < C3H/C3H for both sexes; (VII) Shape factor, p < 0.001, sex differences across all genotypes and genotype differences between C3H/C3H with both C3H/B10 and B10/B10. Values are means ± SE.</p

Whole-Bone Mechanical Performance of C.B.4.2 Mice.

<p>Whole-Bone Mechanical Performance of C.B.4.2 Mice.</p

Additive and Dominance Effects for Chromosome 4 QTL in C.B.4.2 Mice.

<p>Additive and Dominance Effects for Chromosome 4 QTL in C.B.4.2 Mice.</p