Author
Robert S. Bell
Other affiliations: St. Michael's GAA, Sligo, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre ...read more
Bio: Robert S. Bell is an academic researcher from Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto. The author has contributed to research in topics: Soft tissue sarcoma & Sarcoma. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 65 publications receiving 4019 citations. Previous affiliations of Robert S. Bell include St. Michael's GAA, Sligo & Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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Cleveland Clinic1, University of Michigan2, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre3, University of Western Ontario4, Harvard University5, Fox Chase Cancer Center6, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center7, National Institutes of Health8, Novartis9, Mayo Clinic10, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven11, Erasmus University Rotterdam12, Scripps Research Institute13, Emory University14
TL;DR: In this paper, a translocation involving a single gene family, consisting of EWS and related genes, has been identified in five different sarcomas, and its chimeric protein products could prove similarly amenable to inhibitors.
Abstract: Sarcomas--like leukemias, which are also mesodermal malignancies--carry biological significance disproportionate to their clinical frequency. Identification of mutations and translocations associated with these tumors has illuminated aberrant signaling pathways that cause these diseases, determine their behavior, and are therapeutic targets. Activated receptor-associated tyrosine kinase c-kit, mutated in most gastrointestinal stromal tumors, has proven a clinically effective target for enzyme inhibition. A translocation involving a single gene family, consisting of EWS and related genes, has been identified in five different sarcomas, and its chimeric protein products could prove similarly amenable to inhibitors. Resolution of the histopathological complexity is being aided by data from molecular and chromosomal characterization. Improvements in imaging, definition of prognostic factors, and surgical and radiotherapeutic treatment have resulted in improved local control. Continued progress will depend on further adapting the rapidly evolving technologies of genomics and proteomics. It will also depend upon accurate histopathological diagnosis based on validated reagents and consistent methodologies applied to adequate tissue samples derived from patients with complete clinical data. Finally, multicenter, coordinated trials, such as those that occurred with assessment of imatinib mesylate in metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors, will assure the most rapid reductions in morbidity and mortality.
621 citations
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TL;DR: The most important prognostic variables for patients with osteosarcoma of the extremity was tumor necrosis evident following preoperative chemotherapy, and there is no consensus as to any prognostic variable that might be used to stratify patients before the onset of therapy.
Abstract: PURPOSEThe purpose of this critical appraisal was to determine the prognostic factors that influence survival in patients with nonmetastatic, high-grade osteosarcoma of the extremities.DESIGNA computerized literature search of reports published from January 1973 to March 1992 was conducted to determine those eligible for inclusion in the review. Reports were reviewed blindly by two of the authors; inclusion and scoring were determined according to preestablished criteria.RESULTSEight reports were included in the appraisal. The prognostic variables evaluated were age, sex, anatomic tumor location, tumor size, and tumor necrosis. Tumor size and necrosis following preoperative chemotherapy were significant prognostic variables in relation to survival in univariate analysis. However, only tumor necrosis maintained its significance in multivariate modeling.CONCLUSIONThe most important prognostic variable for patients with osteosarcoma of the extremity was tumor necrosis evident following preoperative chemother...
388 citations
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TL;DR: The results of the present study suggest that the risk of local recurrence after curettage with a high-speed burr and reconstruction with autogenous graft with or without allograft bone is similar to that observed after use of cement and other adjuvant treatment.
Abstract: Background: The use of curettage, phenol, and cement is accepted by most experts as the best treatment for giant-cell tumor of bone. The present study was performed to evaluate whether equivalent results could be obtained with curettage with use of a high-speed burr and reconstruction of the resulting defect with autogenous bone graft with or without allograft bone. Methods: The prospectively collected records of patients who had a giant-cell tumor of a long bone were reviewed to determine the rate of local recurrence after treatment with curettage with use of a high-speed burr and reconstruction with autogenous bone graft with or without allograft bone. All of the patients were followed clinically and radiographically, and a biopsy was performed if there were any suspicious changes. Results: Fifty-nine patients met the criteria for inclusion in the study. According to the grading system of Campanacci et al., two patients (3 percent) had a grade-I tumor, twenty-nine (49 percent) had a grade-II tumor, and twenty-eight (47 percent) had a grade-III tumor. Seventeen patients (29 percent) had a pathological fracture at the time of presentation. The mean duration of follow-up was eighty months (range, twenty-eight to 132 months). Seven patients (12 percent) had a local recurrence. Six of these seven were disease-free at the latest follow-up examination after at least one additional treatment with curettage or soft-tissue resection (one patient). One patient had resection and reconstruction with a prosthesis after a massive local recurrence and pulmonary metastases. Conclusions: Despite the high rates of recurrence reported in the literature after treatment of giant-cell tumor with curettage and bone-grafting, the results of the present study suggest that the risk of local recurrence after curettage with a high-speed burr and reconstruction with autogenous graft with or without allograft bone is similar to that observed after use of cement and other adjuvant treatment. It is likely that the adequacy of the removal of the tumor rather than the use of adjuvant modalities is what determines the risk of recurrence.
307 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors considered whether a positive margin occurring after resection of a soft-tissue sarcoma of a limb would affect the incidence of local recurrence, and they found that patients with low-grade liposarcomas were expected to be a low-risk group as were those who had positive margins planned before surgery to preserve critical structures.
Abstract: We considered whether a positive margin occurring after resection of a soft-tissue sarcoma of a limb would affect the incidence of local recurrence. Patients with low-grade liposarcomas were expected to be a low-risk group as were those who had positive margins planned before surgery to preserve critical structures. Two groups, however, were expected to be at a higher risk, namely, patients who had undergone unplanned excision elsewhere with a positive margin on re-excision and those with unplanned positive margins occurring during primary resection. Of 566 patients in a prospective database, 87 with positive margins after limb-sparing surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy were grouped according to the clinical scenario by an observer blinded to the outcome. The rate of local recurrence differed significantly between the two low- (4.2% and 3.6%) and the two high-risk groups (31.6% and 37.5%). This classification therefore provides useful information about the incidence of local recurrence after positive-margin resection.
251 citations
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TL;DR: This series highlights the overall problem of distant failure in soft tissue sarcoma and reaffirms the importance of obtaining local control both in the head and neck, where uncontrolled local disease is the major cause of death, and in general since local relapse appears to increase the risk of distantFailure.
Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate the outcome, patterns of failure and prognostic factors in this rare disease in adult patients treated at a single institution in the modern era. Methods and Materials: The records of all patients (389 cases) with soft tissue sarcoma in the extremities, torso (excluding retroperitoneum), and head and neck managed between 1980 and 1988 were reviewed. A curative (radical) approach was used in 321 patients of whom 10% were recurrent lesions. The local management consisted of surgery alone in 54 cases, surgery and radiotherapy in 250 and radiotherapy alone in 17. Adjuvant chemotherapy was used as a policy for high grade lesions in the initial five years of the study (98 cases), but was omitted subsequently. Results: Extremity lesions fared more favourably compared to head and neck and torso lesions ( p = 0.02) with respect to survival. Extremity and torso lesions had significantly better local control ( p Conclusion: This series highlights the overall problem of distant failure in this disease. It also reaffirms the importance of obtaining local control both in the head and neck, where uncontrolled local disease is the major cause of death, and in general since local relapse appears to increase the risk of distant failure. It appears that the current staging systems should be reviewed in the light of the apparent effect of different prognostic factors.
181 citations
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01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: This list includes tumours of undefined neoplastic nature, which are of uncertain differentiation Bone Tumours, Ewing sarcoma/Primitive neuroedtodermal tumour, Myogenic, lipogenic, neural and epithelial tumours, and others.
4,185 citations
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2,314 citations
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: Lymphedema is a common complication after treatment for breast cancer and factors associated with increased risk of lymphedEMA include extent of axillary surgery, axillary radiation, infection, and patient obesity.
1,988 citations
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TL;DR: Axial tumor site, male sex, and a long history of symptoms were associated with poor response to chemotherapy in univariate and multivariate analysis.
Abstract: PURPOSE: To define prognostic factors for response and long-term outcome for a wide spectrum of osteosarcomas, extending well beyond those of the typical young patient with seemingly localized extremity disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 1,702 consecutive newly diagnosed patients with high-grade osteosarcoma of the trunk or limbs registered into the neoadjuvant studies of the Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group before July 1998 were entered into an analysis of demographic, tumor-related, and treatment-related variables, response, and survival. The intended therapeutic strategy included preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy with multiple agents as well as surgery of all operable lesions. RESULTS: Axial tumor site, male sex, and a long history of symptoms were associated with poor response to chemotherapy in univariate and multivariate analysis. Actuarial 10-year overall and event-free survival rates were 59.8% and 48.9%. Among the variables assessable at diagnosis, patient age (actuarial 10-y...
1,712 citations
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TL;DR: Overall, total hip and total knee arthroplasties were found to be quite effective in terms of improvement in health-related quality-of-life dimensions, with the occasional exception of the social dimension.
Abstract: Background: Total hip and total knee arthroplasties are well accepted as reliable and suitable surgical procedures to return patients to function. Health-related quality-of-life instruments have been used to document outcomes in order to optimize the allocation of resources. The objective of this study was to review the literature regarding the outcomes of total hip and knee arthroplasties as evaluated by health-related quality-of-life instruments.
Methods: The Medline and EMBASE medical literature databases were searched, from January 1980 to June 2003, to identify relevant studies. Studies were eligible for review if they met the following criteria: (1) the language was English or French, (2) at least one well-validated and self-reported health-related quality of life instrument was used, and (3) a prospective cohort study design was used.
Results: Of the seventy-four studies selected for the review, thirty-two investigated both total hip and total knee arthroplasties, twenty-six focused on total hip arthroplasty, and sixteen focused on total knee arthroplasty exclusively. The most common diagnosis was osteoarthritis. The duration of follow-up ranged from seven days to seven years, with the majority of studies describing results at six to twelve months. The Short Form-36 and the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index, the most frequently used instruments, were employed in forty and twenty-eight studies, respectively. Seventeen studies used a utility index. Overall, total hip and total knee arthroplasties were found to be quite effective in terms of improvement in health-related quality-of-life dimensions, with the occasional exception of the social dimension. Age was not found to be an obstacle to effective surgery, and men seemed to benefit more from the intervention than did women. When improvement was found to be modest, the role of comorbidities was highlighted. Total hip arthroplasty appears to return patients to function to a greater extent than do knee procedures, and primary surgery offers greater improvement than does revision. Patients who had poorer preoperative health-related quality of life were more likely to experience greater improvement.
Conclusions: Health-related quality-of-life data are valuable, can provide relevant health-status information to health professionals, and should be used as a rationale for the implementation of the most adequate standard of care. Additional knowledge and scientific dissemination of surgery outcomes should help to ensure better management of patients undergoing total hip or total knee arthroplasty and to optimize the use of these procedures.
Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level III-3 (systematic review of Level-III studies). See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
1,629 citations