Table 2.
Comparison of patient characteristics based on the different treatment pathways: comprehensive care pathway providing full treatment by a sarcoma center (CCP) vs. fragmented care pathway with initial care outside a dedicated sarcoma center (FCP).
| Characteristics | Overall (%) | CCP (%) | FCP (%) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n, (%) | 386 | 297 (76.9) | 89 (23.1) | na |
| Female, n (%) | 186 (48.2) | 139 (74.7/46.8) | 47 (25.3/52.8) | 0.32 |
| Institution | ||||
| 1 | 158 (40.9) | 105 (66.5/35.4) | 53 (33.5/59.6) | 0.001 |
| 2 | 228 (59.1) | 192 (84.2/64.7) | 36 (15.8/40.5) | |
| Biological behavior | 0.05 | |||
| Malignant | 286 (74.1) | 213 (74.5/71.7) | 73 (25.5/82.0) | |
| Intermediate | 100 (25.9) | 84 (84.0/28.3) | 16 (16.0/18.0) | |
| Compartment | 0.04 | |||
| DST-S | 317 (82.1) | 249 (78.5/83.8) | 68 (21.5/76.4) | |
| SST-S | 69 (17.9) | 48 (69.6/16.2) | 21 (30.4/23.6) | |
| Region, n % | 0.02 | |||
| Face, Head, Neck | 13 (3.4) | 10 (76.9/3.4) | 3 (23.1/3.4) | 0.99 |
| Upper extremity | 33 (8.6) | 19 (57.6/6.4) | 14 (42.4/15.7) | 0.006 |
| Lower extremity | 161 (41.7) | 134 (83.2/45.1) | 27 (16.8/30.3) | 0.01 |
| Axial | 61 (15.8) | 45 (73.8/15.2) | 16 (26.2/18.0) | 0.52 |
| Intra- and retroperitoneal | 87 (22.5) | 62 (71.3/20.9) | 25 (28.7/28.1) | 0.15 |
| Urogenital, perineal, and anal regions | 31 (8.0) | 27 (87.1/9.1) | 4 (12.9/4.5) | 0.16 |
| Initial Size, mm | 0.6 | |||
| 0–50 mm | 108 (28.0) | 81 (75.0/27.3) | 27 (25.0/30.3) | 0.57 |
| 51–100 mm | 133 (34.5) | 99 (74.4/33.3) | 34 (25.6/38.2) | 0.4 |
| 101–150 mm | 74 (19.2) | 59 (79.7/19.9) | 15 (20.3/16.9) | 0.53 |
| >150 mm | 71 (18.4) | 58 (81.7/19.5) | 13 (18.3/14.6) | 0.29 |
| Tumor grading | c | b | a | 0.78 |
| G1 | 138 (36.1) | 106 (76.8/36.1) | 32 (23.2/36.4) | 0.96 |
| G2 | 70 (18.3) | 56 (80.0/19.1) | 14 (20.0/15.9) | 0.5 |
| G3 | 174 (45.6) | 132 (75.9/44.9) | 42 (24.1/47.7) | 0.65 |
| Resection margin | e | d | a | 0.001 |
| R0 wide margin/R0 | 232 (61.1) | 199 (85.8/68.2) | 33 (14.2/37.5) | 0.0001 |
| Positive resection margins (R1 + R2) | 148 (38.9) | 93 (62.8/31.3) | 55 (37.2/61.8) | 0.0001 |
| Chemotherapy part of first treatment | 42 (10.9) | 33 (78.6/11.1) | 9 (21.4/10.1) | 0.08 |
| Radiotherapy part of first treatment | 159 (41.2) | 128 (80.5/43.1) | 31 (19.5/34.8) | 0.9 |
| Whoops resections | 96 (24.8) | 51 (53.1/17.2) | 45 (46.9/50.6) | <0.0001 |
| Local recurrence n, % | 68 (17.6) | 39 (57.4/13.1) | 29 (43.6/32.6) | <0.0001 |
Data presented in numbers (n) of patients, with percent values in brackets (according to the total overall of the specific variable/according to comprehensive or fragmented care pathway). Patients are categorized by comprehensive or fragmented care pathway. p-values indicate statistical significance of differences between groups, with a threshold of <0.05 considered significant. Biological behavior was defined according to the WHO criteria into malignant and intermediate and tumor grading according to Angervall and Kindblom (1993) [28]. Resection margins were defined according to Enneking et al. (1980) [26] (R0, R1, R2). DST-S, deep soft-tissue sarcoma; IQR, interquartile range; n, number; SST-S, superficial soft-tissue sarcoma. a one patient not classified; b three patients not classified; c four patients not classified, d five patients missing; e six patients missing.