The Effect of Primary ACL Reconstruction on Career Longevity in English Premier League and Championship Soccer Players Compared With Uninjured Controls: A Matched Cohort Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Because of the multitude of variables that affect the retirement decisions of professional soccer players, it has proven difficult to isolate the effect of undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) on career longevity. PURPOSE: To compare the career longevity of professional soccer players after a primary ACLR with that of an uninjured matched control cohort. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: A retrospective review of a consecutive series of primary ACLR was performed between 2008 and 2018 in professional male soccer players from the senior author's practice. Each athlete with ACLR was matched to 3 control athletes who had not undergone ACLR according to age, league, playing position, and preinjury game appearances/minutes played. Player career statistics-including league, game appearances, and game minutes-were compiled for each year until retirement or July 1, 2022. RESULTS: A total of 82 soccer players in the English Premier League or Championship at the time of their primary ACLR were matched to 246 control athletes. The mean career length after ACLR was 6 ± 2.6 years, while that of the matched control athletes was 7.6 ± 2.8 years (P < .001). After primary ACLR, an athlete had a 2 times greater chance of retirement compared with the matched control athlete (hazard ratio, 2.19; P < .001). At 5 years after ACLR, 16% of athletes had retired from professional soccer, while 8.5% of the matched cohort were retired (P = .060). By 10 years, 72% of the ACLR cohort had retired compared with 43% of the matched cohort (P < .001). Forwards were more likely to have shortened careers compared with goalkeepers (P = .021); however, no significant differences were observed between midfielders, defenders, and forwards. Within the ACLR cohort, a contralateral ACL tear during the athlete's career caused a 2.30 times (P = .022) increased chance of retirement compared with athletes with only 1 ACL tear during their career. Mechanism of injury, meniscal pathology, graft rerupture, and chondral lesions did not affect career length. CONCLUSION: Professional male soccer players who underwent ACLR had decreased career length by approximately 1.6 years compared with a matched player cohort.

Determinants of Performance in Professional Soccer Players at 2 and 5 Years After ACL Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: A number of studies have investigated return to play after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) in professional soccer players, but it is unclear which factors are associated with a return to the preinjury performance and ability to play over time. PURPOSE: To identify factors that contribute to a professional soccer player's return to preinjury performance after ACLR, as well as to report their playing performance at 2 and 5 years after ACLR compared with their preinjury performance. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: A consecutive cohort of professional soccer players undergoing primary ACLR were analyzed between 2005 and 2019. A minimum 2-year follow-up was required. The effect of patient, surgical, and postoperative factors on performance rates, defined as a combination of league level and playing time, was evaluated with univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 200 male professional soccer players were included. When combining league level and playing time, 30% of athletes returned to their preinjury performance at 2 years and 22% at 5 years. However, 53% of athletes returned to their preinjury performance for at least 1 season by year 5. At 2 years, a chondral lesion of grade 3 or 4 decreased the odds of return to preinjury performance (odds ratio [OR], 0.37; P = .010). Athletes receiving an ACLR with the addition of a lateral extra-articular tenodesis procedure were 2.42 times more likely to return to preinjury performance at 2 years than athletes with ACLR alone (P = .004). By 5 years after ACLR, athletes aged ≥25 years at the time of reconstruction were 3 times less likely to be performing at their preinjury performance (OR, 0.32; P < .001), and those with a grade ≥3 chondral lesion were >2 times less likely to be performing at their preinjury performance (OR, 0.43; P = .033). CONCLUSION: The presence of >50% thickness chondral pathology, ACLR without lateral extra-articular tenodesis, and age >25 years at the time of surgery were all significant risk factors of worse performance rates after ACLR. Significant decreases in performance rates were noted at 2 and 5 years postoperatively.

"Extremely slow and capricious": A qualitative exploration of genetic researcher priorities in selecting shared data resources.

PURPOSE: Genetic researchers' selection of a database can have scientific, regulatory, and ethical implications. It is important to understand what is driving database selection such that database stewards can be responsive to user needs while balancing the interests of communities in equitably benefiting from advances. METHODS: We conducted 23 semistructured interviews with US academic genetic researchers working with private, government, and collaboratory data stewards to explore factors that they consider when selecting a genetic database. RESULTS: Interviewees used existing databases to avoid burdens of primary data collection, which was described as expensive and time-consuming. They highlighted ease of access as the most important selection factor, integrating concepts of familiarity and efficiency. Data features, such as size and available phenotype, were also important. Demographic diversity was not originally cited by any interviewee as a pivotal factor; when probed, most stated that the option to consider diversity in database selection was limited. Database features, including integrity, harmonization, and storage were also described as key components of efficient use. CONCLUSION: There is a growing market and competition between genetic data stewards. Data need to be accessible, harmonized, and administratively supported for their existence to be translated into use and, in turn, result in scientific advancements across diverse communities.

Patient and Provider Perspectives on Enrollment in Precision Oncology Research: Qualitative Ethical Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The genomic frontier continues to revolutionize the practice of oncology. Advances in cancer biology from tumorigenesis to treatment resistance are driven by the molecular underpinnings of malignancy. The framing of precision oncology as both a clinical and research tool is constantly evolving and directly influences conversations between oncologists and their patients. Prior research has shown that patient-participants often have unmet or unrealistic expectations regarding the clinical utility of oncology research and genomic sequencing. This indicates the need for more in-depth investigation of how and why patients choose to participate in such research. OBJECTIVE: This study presents a qualitative ethical analysis to better understand patient and provider perspectives on enrollment in precision oncology research. METHODS: Paired semistructured interviews were conducted with patient-participants enrolled in a prospective head and neck precision oncology research platform, along with their oncology providers, at a National Cancer Institute-designated academic cancer center. RESULTS: There were three major themes that emerged from the analysis. (1) There are distinct and unique challenges with informed consent to precision medicine, chiefly involving the ability of both patient-participants and providers to effectively understand the science underlying the research. (2) The unique benefits of precision medicine enrollment are of paramount importance to patients considering enrollment. (3) Patient-participants have little concern for the risks of research enrollment, particularly in the context of a low-burden protocol. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-participants and their providers offer complementary and nuanced perspectives on their motivation to engage in precision oncology research. This reflects both the inherent promise and enthusiasm within the field, as well as the limitations and challenges of ensuring that both patient-participants and clinicians understand the complexities of the science involved.

Patient and Provider Perspectives Regarding Enrollment in Head and Neck Cancer Research.

OBJECTIVE: The advent of precision oncology complicates how clinicians and participants understand how clinical care and research interface. Here we examine how key stakeholders perceive the utility of, and evaluate the decision to participate in, genomic sequencing head and neck cancer research. The goal of this study was to highlight unique considerations for our community as this type of research proliferates across the country. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective multimethod qualitative and quantitative embedded ethics protocol. SETTING: Single-institution National Cancer Institute-designated academic cancer center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Multimethod study using paired surveys and semistructured interviews among patients and providers involved in a prospective precision head and neck oncology sequencing protocol (116 survey patient-participants, response rate 82%) with 18 interviewees. RESULTS: Participants were generally enthusiastic about enrollment in research, both to help future patients and as a way of giving back to the community. They described reliance on information from and trust in their cancer doctor regarding the decision to participate in research, but paradoxically there was discordance in how doctors and patients reported their respective influence in the decision-making process. Clinicians also stressed the importance in separating clinical and research-informed consent processes, although patients did not describe this tension. CONCLUSION: As we enter an era of increasing personalized medicine and targeted therapies, the relationship between clinicians, scientists, and patients plays a larger role in how we individualize and contextualize cancer research. Our data are another step toward the ultimate goal of respecting and protecting patients as participants in head and neck translational oncology.