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METHODS article

Front. Pediatr.

Sec. Pediatric Oncology

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1534153

A multidisciplinary and structured approach for comprehensive evaluation of functional outcomes, adverse events, psychosocial outcomes and health-related quality of life after local therapy for bone sarcoma in children: protocol for a cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Leonie G Tigelaar Leonie G Tigelaar 1*Lianne M Haveman Lianne M Haveman 1Willem P Bekkering Willem P Bekkering 1Irene LB Oude Lansink Irene LB Oude Lansink 2Christel D Rohrich Christel D Rohrich 2Hinke Van der Hoek Hinke Van der Hoek 1Laura R Beek Laura R Beek 1Jennifer Van Dijk Jennifer Van Dijk 1Marjolein EM Langemeijer Marjolein EM Langemeijer 1Relinde W Slooff-Lentink Relinde W Slooff-Lentink 1Alied M Van der Aa-Van Delden Alied M Van der Aa-Van Delden 1Heleen Maurice-Stam Heleen Maurice-Stam 1Annemarie ML Peek Annemarie ML Peek 1Helena JH Van der Pal Helena JH Van der Pal 1Maria MW Koopman Maria MW Koopman 1Leontien CM Kremer Leontien CM Kremer 1Stijn J Westerbos Stijn J Westerbos 1Harm Van Tinteren Harm Van Tinteren 1Jos AM Bramer Jos AM Bramer 1,3Michiel AJ Van de Sande Michiel AJ Van de Sande 1,4Martha A Grootenhuis Martha A Grootenhuis 1Hendrik WB Schreuder Hendrik WB Schreuder 1,5Johannes HM Merks Johannes HM Merks 1,6*
  • 1 Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, Netherlands
  • 2 Department of Pediatric Rehabilitation, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, Utrecht, Netherlands
  • 3 Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 4 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
  • 5 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
  • 6 Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Bone sarcoma patients face intensive treatment, including life-changing local therapy, which impacts both short-and long-term functioning. Moreover, bone sarcoma survivors experience the highest burden of adverse events of all childhood cancer survivors. To address these issues, we set up a structured multidisciplinary outpatient follow-up clinic for patients who completed treatment and integrated this clinic into the standard of care. This study protocol describes the methodology of a cross-sectional study that aims to systematically report the functional outcomes, adverse events, psychosocial outcomes and health-related quality of life of the cohort seen at this clinic. Methods and analysis: Participants are recruited at the multidisciplinary follow-up clinic and their consent is obtained. Standard of care clinical assessments serve as the primary data source for this study. Furthermore, additional research assessments are performed to further expand our knowledge.Assessments are structured by standardized assessment sets that we developed based on literature review and joint national expertise in bone sarcoma care. The sets comply with international guidelines such as the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, disability and health, and include a combination of patient-reported, clinician-reported and performance-based outcome measures for comprehensive representation of outcomes.Discussion: This study will generate valuable knowledge on the functional outcomes, adverse events, psychosocial outcomes and quality of life of a national cohort of pediatric bone sarcoma patients in follow-up care. By aligning additional research assessments with standardized patient care, a comprehensive range of outcomes will be obtained while minimizing the patient's burden. Moreover, this protocol may serve as a template for clinics and research internationally, allowing for the merging of standardized outcome data in such rare disease. This will facilitate the optimization of current patient care and inform the important shared decision-making process for local treatment in future patients.

    Keywords: adverse events, Bone Sarcoma, functional outcome, orthopedic surgery, pediatric oncology, study protocol, Quality of Life

    Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 20 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Tigelaar, Haveman, Bekkering, Oude Lansink, Rohrich, Van der Hoek, Beek, Van Dijk, Langemeijer, Slooff-Lentink, Van der Aa-Van Delden, Maurice-Stam, Peek, Van der Pal, Koopman, Kremer, Westerbos, Van Tinteren, Bramer, Van de Sande, Grootenhuis, Schreuder and Merks. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Leonie G Tigelaar, Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, Netherlands
    Johannes HM Merks, Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, Netherlands

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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