Spinal metastasis: narrative reviews of the current evidence and treatment modalities

Abstract

The treatment for spinal metastasis has evolved significantly during the past decade. An advancement in systemic therapy has led to a prolonged overall survival in cancer patients, thus increasing the incidence of spinal metastasis. In addition, with the improved treatment armamentarium, the prediction of patient survival using traditional prognostic models may have limitations and these require the incorporation of some novel parameters to improve their prognostic accuracy. The development of minimally-invasive spinal procedures and minimal access surgical techniques have facilitated a quicker patient recovery and return to systemic treatment. These modern interventions help to alleviate pain and improve quality of life, even in candidates with a relatively short life expectancy. Radiotherapy may be considered in non-surgical candidates or as adjuvant therapy for improving local tumour control. Stereotactic radiosurgery has facilitated this even in radioresistant tumours and may even replace surgery in radiosensitive malignancies. This narrative review summarizes the current evidence leading to the paradigm shifts in the modern treatment of spinal metastasis.

Keywords: Spinal metastasis; spinal cord compression; spinal metastasis surgery.

Figure 1.

Treatment algorithm for spinal metastasis. ESCC, epidural spinal cord compression; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; PET-CT, positron emission tomography-computed tomography; cEBRT, conventional external beam radiotherapy; SRS, stereotactic radiosurgery. The colour version of this figure is available at: http://imr.sagepub.com.