The Influence of Danish Cancer Patient Pathways on Survival in Deep-Seated, High-Grade Soft-Tissue Sarcomas in the Extremities and Trunk Wall: A Retrospective Observational Study

Andrea Thorn*, Kristoffer Michael Seem, Maj Lis Talman, Bodil E. Engelmann, Michala Skovlund Sørensen, Ninna Aggerholm-Pedersen, Thomas Baad-Hansen, Michael Mørk Petersen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare and challenging to diagnose due to their heterogeneous presentation. In 2009, Denmark introduced the Cancer Patient Pathways for sarcomas (CPPs) to improve sarcoma treatment by streamlining diagnostic and therapeutic processes. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the CPPs on the overall survival of patients with deep-seated, high-grade STSs, comparing outcomes from before and after CPP implementation. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from 712 patients diagnosed with high-grade STSs in the extremities or trunk wall between 2000 and 2018. Patients were grouped into pre-CPP (2000–2008) and post-CPP (2010–2018) cohorts. Overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier estimates. Results: The five-year overall survival improved from 43% in the pre-CPP cohort to 52% post-CPP (p = 0.05). Time-to-treatment was significantly reduced in the post-CPP cohort, with a median decrease of 3 days (18 vs. 15 days, p < 0.001). We found only a very weak tendency toward larger tumor sizes in the pre-CPP cohort and no difference regarding the percentage of patients that had distant metastases at diagnosis between cohorts. In the post-CPP cohort, the percentage of whoops operations decreased and the use of oncological services increased. Conclusions: After the introduction of the CPPs for the sarcoma patients, overall survival improved and time to treatment was reduced. This study highlights the importance of efficient referral pathways in improving cancer outcomes but cannot exclude that other factors could also have contributed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4077
JournalCancers
Volume16
Issue23
ISSN2072-6694
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

Keywords

  • Cancer Patient Pathways
  • high-malignant
  • sarcoma
  • survival

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Influence of Danish Cancer Patient Pathways on Survival in Deep-Seated, High-Grade Soft-Tissue Sarcomas in the Extremities and Trunk Wall: A Retrospective Observational Study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this