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Long-term functional follow-up of pediatric extremity sarcoma patients treated with brachytherapy
Christian Kveller, Michael M Bendtsen, Thomas Baad-Hansen, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Midtjylland, Denmark
Akmal Safwat, Danish Centre for Particle Therapy, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Midtjylland, Denmark
Jacob C Lindegaard, Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Midtjylland, Denmark
Author contributions: Kveller C, Bendtsen MM, and Baad-Hansen T conceived and designed the study; Kveller C performed data collection and wrote the first draft; Kveller C, Safwat A, Lindegaard JC, and Bendtsen M contributed to writing, reviewing, and editing of the manuscript; Baad-Hansen T contributed to supervision. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: AI tools (specifically ChatGPT) were used solely for linguistic refinement. No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed and revised by the authors.
Institutional review board statement: The project was approved by the institutional review board under the filing: No. 284/1-10-72-274-21.
Informed consent statement: The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient and parent consent forms.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: sharing statement: Anonymized data is available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.
Corresponding author: Christian Kveller, MD, Consultant, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, Aarhus 8200, Midtjylland, Denmark. chrkve@rm.dk
Received: April 14, 2026
Revised: May 18, 2026
Accepted: June 24, 2026
Published online: August 18, 2026
Processing time: 126 Days and 20.8 Hours
Revised: May 18, 2026
Accepted: June 24, 2026
Published online: August 18, 2026
Processing time: 126 Days and 20.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Brachytherapy is a viable alternative to external beam radiotherapy for pediatric extremity sarcomas and may provide acceptable functional outcomes. However, it does not eliminate growth-related complications, and ongoing skeletal growth presents challenges in achieving optimal long-term functional outcomes. Close cooperation with oncology late-effects clinics and continued evaluation by pediatric orthopedic surgeons may help optimize long-term care.