The Prophylactic Antibiotic Regimens in Tumor Surgery (PARITY) International Randomized Controlled Trial Sponsored by BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals

This episode is sponsored by BTG Speciality Pharmaceuticals. BTG provides rescue medicines typically used in emergency rooms and intensive care units to treat patients for whom there are limited treatment options. They are dedicated to delivering quality medicines that make a real difference to patients and their families through the development, manufacture, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Their current portfolio of antidotes counteracts certain snake venoms and the toxicity associated with some heart and cancer medications. Dr. Michelle Ghert is a full Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery at McMaster University. She is Director of MacOrtho Research and co-Chair of the Sarcoma Disease Site at the Juravinski Cancer Center in Hamilton. Dr. Ghert completed her undergraduate and medical degrees at Stanford University and Vanderbilt University respectively. She trained in orthopaedic surgery at Duke University and completed a 2-year fellowship in orthopaedic oncology at the University of Toronto. She has been on Faculty at McMaster since 2005. Dr. Ghert has been selected to the Presidential Line of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society and will be President-Elect in October of this year. Dr. Ghert’s research initiatives have made national and international impact. She led the Prophylactic Antibiotic Regimens in Tumor Surgery (PARITY) randomized controlled trial (RCT), the first multi-centre RCT in orthopaedic oncology in which 604 patients were enrolled from 55 clinical sites in 12 countries. In terms of the number of countries collaborating, PARITY is the largest RCT in orthopaedic surgery to date. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Oncology) on January 6, 2022. . Dr. Ghert is also leading the Surveillance After Extremity Tumor Surgery (SAFETY) RCT in which patients are randomized to more or less intense surveillance after treatment for a high-grade soft-tissue sarcoma. The primary outcome for the SAFETY trial is overall survival at 5 years. Similar to the PARITY trial, the SAFETY trial is an international multi-centre collaborative trial. Both the PARITY and SAFETY RCTs have been supported by research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI). For her work on the PARITY trial, Dr. Ghert was awarded the 2018 J. Éduoard Samson Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Research by the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation. Dr. Ghert’s other research interests include the promotion of diversity and inclusion within the orthopaedic surgery workplace. She recently collaborated with the Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA) on the study entitled ‘Prevalence of gender-based and sexual harassment in the field of orthopaedic surgery’, was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery. She is also working with the COA on a study to determine the barriers to men and women in their participation in orthopaedic travelling fellowships.