Primary malignant bone and soft tissue tumours often occur in the lower extremities of active individuals including children, teenagers and young adults. Survivors routinely face long-term physical disability. Participation in sports is particularly important for active young people but the impact of sarcoma treatment is not widely recognised and clinicians may be unable to provide objective advice about returning to sports. We aimed to identify and summarise the current evidence for involvement in sports following treatment of lower limb primary malignant bone and soft tissue tumours. A comprehensive search strategy was used to identify relevant studies combining the main concepts of interest: (1) Bone/Soft Tissue Tumour, (2) Lower Limb, (3) Surgical Interventions and (4) Sports. Studies were selected according to eligibility criteria with the consensus of three authors. Customised data extraction and quality assessment tools were used. 22 studies were selected, published between 1985 – 2020, and comprising 1005 patients. Fifteen studies with data on return to sports including 705 participants of which 412 (58.4%) returned to some form of sport at a mean follow-up period of 7.6 years. Four studies directly compared limb sparing and amputation; none of these were able to identify a difference in sports participation or ability. Return to sports is important for patients treated for musculoskeletal tumours, however, there is insufficient published research to provide good information and support for patients. Future prospective studies are needed to collect better pre and post-treatment data at multiple time intervals and validated clinical and patient sports participation outcomes such as type of sports participation, level and frequency and a validated sports specific outcome score, such as UCLA assessment. In particular, more comparison between limb sparing and amputation would be welcome

Most lumps found in the extremity are benign. Some, however, are not. An approach to tertiary referral is required to accommodate the need for specialist evaluation of all concerning lumps, while maintaining an acceptable time to diagnosis and definitive management. We describe a new approach to tertiary sarcoma service, utilising modern communication technology and the “virtual clinic” approach. Methods. Data from 1053 consecutive patients referred to the MSK oncology service at Glasgow Royal Infirmary between January 2010 and August 2012 was prospectively collected. Results. All suspected musculoskeletal sarcoma cases were discussed referred to our tertiary sarcoma virtual clinic were discussed. Mean time from referral to clinic for the 625 patents referred from January 2011 was 5.1 days. 41% of referrals came from out-with our health trust. 28.3% of patients were discharged from the virtual clinic without need for physical appointment. 45.8% were sent for further investigation prior to first clinic appointment, with the remaining 25.5% given an urgent clinic appointment. Final diagnoses of soft tissue tumours, bone tumours and “tumour like conditions” were present in almost equal parts. 358 patients (34%) of patients went on to have surgery, with 59 malignant soft tissue and 53 malignant bone tumours over this time period. Conclusions. Through an early, virtual clinic approach to tertiary sarcoma care, a third of referrals have been managed quickly without the need for an unnecessary appointment for the patient. For a further 45% of patients the first appointment will be after all necessary investigations have been performed to facilitate rapid decision making. This enables shorter clinic waiting times and rapid transition from first referral to definitive management

Objectives

The cytotoxicity induced by cobalt ions (Co²⁺) and cobalt nanoparticles (Co-NPs) which released following the insertion of a total hip prosthesis, has been reported. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. In this study, we investigate the toxic effect of Co²⁺ and Co-NPs on liver cells, and explain further the potential mechanisms.