Chirurgisches Management von Wirbelsäulenmetastasen

[Treatment strategies for pathological fractures of the spine]

BACKGROUND

Pathological fractures and instabilities of the spine are most often caused by primary tumors that hematogenously metastasize into the spine. In this context breast, prostate, kidney cell and bronchial carcinomas are the most relevant causative diseases. Furthermore, multiple myeloma is another frequent entity. Primary tumors of the spine are correspondingly rare and only make up a small proportion of all malignant processes in the spine.

DECISION MAKING

The main symptom of pain is prognostically unfavorable in this context and is often associated with progressive instability or pathological fractures. To objectify the treatment approach the neurological status, an oncological assessment, the biomechanical stability and (systemic) general condition (NOMS criteria) of the patient have to be considered. Another major factor is the radiation sensitivity of the tumor. The spinal instability neoplastic (SIN) score is recommended to assess stability. Regardless of whether conservative or surgical treatment is carried out, interdisciplinary cooperation between the specialist departments must be guaranteed in order to achieve adequate treatment for the patient.

TREATMENT

If a curative approach is followed an individualized and interdisciplinary surgical strategy must be performed to achieve an R0 resection, usually as a spondylectomy. In the case of palliative treatment, the goal of surgical treatment must be pain reduction, stability and avoidance or restoration of neurological deficits. This requires stabilization in a percutaneous or open technique, possibly in combination with decompression and local tumor debulking.

[Intramedullary nail combined with auxiliary plate and bone cement in treatment of pathologic fracture of extremities caused by metastatic tumors]

Objective

To explore the application of intramedullary nail fixation combined with auxiliary plate and bone cement in the palliative treatment of pathologic fracture of extremities caused by metastatic tumors.

Methods

Clinical data of 11 cases with pathologic fracture of extremities caused by metastatic tumors between April 2015 and October 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were treated by intramedullary nail fixation combined with auxiliary plate and bone cement. There were 6 males and 5 females with an age of 54-72 years (mean, 62.9 years). The disease duration was 1.0-1.5 months. Of the 11 patients, 4 metastatic tumors were diagnosed at humerus, 6 at femur, and 1 at tibia, respectively. And the tumor infiltration length ranged from 3.3 to 5.6 cm (mean, 4.6 cm), the depth could reach the bilayer of limb bones. All the patients had suffered the limbs pain and incapability of physical movement. The preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 6.36±1.03, and the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score was 42.73±10.09. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications were recorded. The VAS score, KPS score, and Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score were used to evaluate the effectiveness at 3 months after operation.

Results

The operation time was 1.1-1.8 hours (mean, 1.5 hours), the intraoperative blood loss was 102.5-211.3 mL (mean, 135.6 mL). Postoperative limb incisions healed well without infection, necrosis, and delayed healing or other complications. All the patients were followed up 7-10 months (mean, 8.2 months). At 3 months after operation, the functions of limbs recovered. The VAS score decreased to 0.82±0.75 and the KPS score increased to 85.45±5.22, both showing significant difference when compared with preoperative ones ( t=35.218, P=0.000; t=-18.470, P=0.000); and the MSTS score was 23.91±2.47. At last follow-up, the anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films showed that all the limbs healing well and no breakage of intramedullary nail and steel plate, or loosening in bone cement, limb shortening, malalignment, or other complications occurred.

Conclusion

In treating metastatic tumors of extremities, the combination of intramedullary nail fixation with auxiliary plate and bone cement will contribute to an invariable length and fixed location for limbs, resulting in biomechanical stability for skeleton. Under this premise, the tumor lesions can be eliminated and pathological pains be relieved, so as to improve patients' life quality.

[Operative therapy of spinal metastases from urological tumors]

The treatment of bone metastases from urological tumors represents a palliative form of therapy, apart from the resection of solitary metastases from renal cell carcinomas. Due to the high incidence of spinal metastases this can result in clinically significant symptoms and possible complications for patients, such as pain, spinal instability and compression of the spinal canal with corresponding neurological deficits. By the use of targeted diagnostics and induction of radiotherapeutic and/or surgical treatment, for the majority of patients an immediate reduction in pain as well as early mobilization and sometimes even regression of existing neurological deficits and therefore an improved quality of life can be achieved.

[Vertebral metastases of urogenital carcinomas: Diagnosis and conservative therapy]

The high incidence of bone metastases of urologic neoplasms and their morbidity, especially of vertebral metastases, requires exact diagnosis and consequent therapy. Conventional radiography plays an important role in the diagnosis of symptomatic bone lesions. Computed tomography can evaluate the stability of metastatic lesions and is indispensable for therapy planning. MRI and PET-CT have the highest diagnostic accuracy for the detection of bone metastases and MRI can evaluate their intra- and extraosseus components. PET-CT, PET-MRI, or SPECT-CT in combination with specific tracers - due to their high specificity and sensitivity - have the potential to replace conventional methods in the future. Conservative treatment basically consists of analgesic therapy, the administration of calcium and vitamin D3 and bisphosphonates or inhibitors of RANKL (denosumab). Moreover radium-223-dichloride can improve overall survival and the time to the first symptomatic skeletal event in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients with bone metastases.

Five polyostotic conditions that general orthopedic surgeons should recognize (or should not miss)

General orthopedic surgeons frequently encounter patients with conditions affecting multiple bones. It is important to recognize common polyostotic diseases. This article describes five polyostotic conditions: Multipe Enchondromatosis (Ollier Disease and Maffucci syndrome), Multiple Hereditary Exostosis (Diaphyseal Aclasis), Fibrous Dysplasia (McCune-Albright syndrome and Mazabraud syndrome), Paget's Disease of bone (Osteitis Deformans), and Skeletal Metastases. This is a survey of the clinical, pathologic and radiographic features that assist in diagnosing these conditions. Also, an overview of the laboratory findings, treatment, follow-up, and prognosis is presented. Recognizing these diseases will aid in prompt and accurate diagnosis and appropriate referral and therapy.

[Solitary spinal metastases. Is aggressive surgical management justified?]

Advances in oncological and surgical therapies have led to a significant increase in life expectancy of cancer patients and also prolonged survival of patients with isolated or multiple metastases. Among the skeletal manifestations the spine is the most often affected site. Using novel imaging techniques with higher resolution and use of metabolic signatures, the screening of cancer patients has improved considerably. Consequently, the diagnosis of metastases is becoming increasingly more sensitive. Therefore, but also due to more effective polychemotherapy protocols, singular or solitary metastases are more frequently observed either in the early stages or as a result of a controlled malignant tumor entity (stable disease). The questions whether a solitary metastasis really exists (illusion or reality?) and its radical oncological and surgical treatment as a circumscribed singular tumor manifestation, is really relevant for the overall prognosis, remains controversial. However, it seems evident that a biologically favorable underlying tumor biology, radical treatment of the primary tumor and a long metastasis-free interval are valid predictors of a good oncological outcome. In the presence of a solitary metastasis under these circumstances (typical example: solitary metastasis of renal cell carcinoma many years after radical tumor nephrectomy) a radical surgical procedure (en bloc spondylectomy) can significantly improve the long-term prognosis of this patient group in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. However, a thorough evaluation of the overall survival prognosis, a detailed and complete staging followed by a treatment consensus in the interdisciplinary tumor board has to precede any therapeutical decisions.

[Indications and limitations of minimally invasive stabilization of metastatic spinal disease]

The number of patients with symptomatic metastases increases from year to year. Especially spinal metastases often lead to severe pain which often cannot be treated adequately by conservative treatment. Surgeons are confronted with the risk of instability, pathological fractures and neurological failure and the surgical treatment necessary in most cases is nowadays becoming an even greater challenge. The surgical procedure has changed considerably in recent years. The therapy is patient-individualized, the selection of implants and technology is adapted to the physical condition of the patient and the progression of the underlying disease. The main targets of the surgical treatment of spinal metastases have to be sufficient pain reduction with restoration of mobility as well as with the prevention of neurological deficits caused by progressive osteolysis. There are two minimally invasive stabilization procedures which can basically be applied. Under certain circumstances a single kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty procedure can be sufficient, in contrast to the possibility of short or long percutaneous posterior stabilization in combination with selective decompression of neural structures. These percutaneous surgical procedures currently have an important place in the surgical treatment of spinal metastases. The advantages are a less traumatic intervention for patients with advanced malignant diseases and poor general condition. Low intraoperative loss of blood means less intraoperative stress for the patient and minor surgical approaches lead to rapid mobilization and effective pain relief. As a result the hospital stay is shorter, adjuvant therapy can be started earlier and patients can be discharged sooner.

[Results-adapted operative treatment options for spinal metastases]

The current operative approaches and technical possibilities in the operative treatment of spinal metastases are manifold which enables an individual operative strategy adapted to the patient's condition. Maintaining quality of life is the primary goal in the treatment of these patients. The therapeutic goals, such as pain control, avoidance of neurological deficits and the achievement of spinal stability have to be attained with as little morbidity as possible. From this perspective the available operative techniques ranging from minimally invasive approaches to complex reconstructive surgery will be addressed and discussed in this article.

Minimally invasive combined anterior kyphoplasty for osteolytic C2 and C5 metastases

Kypho- and vertebroplasty are widely accepted for treating patients suffering from pathologic thoracolumbar lesions, in particular diffuse metastatic-induced fractures. They provide rapid pain relief and the restoration of spinal stability. In the cervical spine, attempts have been made to use cement augmentation for these indications. However, the cervical spine's anatomy complicates the transpedicular approach, as well as the pre-formation of a vertebral body cavity and the application of bone cement. We report the case of a 46-year-old woman suffering from symptomatic C2 and C5 osteolysis caused by metastatic breast cancer. Following a surgical staging and classification (Tokuhashi-Score) that indicated palliative procedures, we performed a C2 and C5 kyphoplasty using one minimal-invasive anterior approach through a small incision. We observed an uneventful procedure and postoperative course as well as immediate pain relief and patient mobilization. Last patient follow-up at 3 months showed an excellent outcome. Our observations showed cervical spine kyphoplasty via a minimally invasive anterior approach to be feasible, successful and safe surgical method in the interdisciplinary palliative treatment.

Actual and predicted survival time of patients with spinal metastases of lung cancer: evaluation of the robustness of the Tokuhashi score

STUDY DESIGN

In a retrospective analysis we evaluated the achieved and the predicted survival times according to the Tokuhashi score for patients with spinal metastases of lung cancer (lc).

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to investigate the robustness of the Tokuhashi Score for this group of patients.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

The decision on operative versus conservative treatment for cancer patients with vertebral metastases depend on their predicted lifespan. Although the score of Tokuhashi is commonly used for prognostic predictions, it's reliability for specific tumor types (e.g., lc), has not been validated.

METHODS

Seventy-six patients who had undergone spinal surgery for lc metastases between 1999 and 2004 were verified according to the Tokuhashi score and predicted versus achieved survival times were compared.

RESULTS

The median overall survival (OS) after surgery for all patients was 108 (3-1767) days (102 [5-1767] days for patients with NSCLC [n = 49; 64.5%] and 108 [3-473] days for patients with SCLC [n = 24; 31.6%]). Survival times differed depending on the time period of procedure performance (OS 81 [3-435] days for patients operated between 1999 and 2001 [n = 38], 135 [8-1767] days for patients who received surgery between 2002 and 2004 [n = 38]). Actual and predicted survival were similar in 51 of 76 cases (67.1%), while there was no correlation in 25 of 76 (32.9%) cases. Results were comparable for all histologic subgroups.

CONCLUSION

Although the survival time of patients with vertebral metastases from lc has increased over the last 10 years, the overall outcome is still poor. For the prediction of an individual prognosis in the group of lc patients the score of Tokuhashi seems to be a suboptimal tool. We conclude that therapeutic decisions for such patients should be made based on interdisciplinary platforms, especially in the light of improved systemic treatment options.

Dynamics of neurological deficit after surgical decompression of symptomatic vertebral metastases

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a retrospective study to examination the influence of preoperative duration of symptoms on the clinical outcome of patients that underwent surgical decompression because of neurologic deficit in metastatic disease of the spine. OBJECTIVES.: Our aim was to investigate possible correlations between the duration of neurologic deficit before surgery and postoperative outcome with respect to neural recovery in patients with spinal metastases, and second, based on those results, propose criteria for the timing of surgery in these patients.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

It has not yet been determined whether the duration of preoperative symptoms has an influence on the postoperative outcome of patients with vertebral metastases. A standardized treatment or protocol defining a strategy of surgical treatment has yet to be designed.

METHODS

This study includes 194 patients. The duration of symptoms before surgical treatment and the neurologic status before and after operation were determined and classified according to the Frankel score.

RESULTS

Of 401 patients, who underwent surgery due to metastases to the spine, 194 suffered from neurologic deficit. Analyzing the postoperative neurostatus in these patients revealed an improvement in 78 patients (40%), impairment in 13 patients (7%), and in 103 patients it did not change. The relation of duration of neurologic symptoms before surgery, and the outcome after an operation was highly significant (P < 0.001). In patients with less than 3 days of neurologic deficit, the probability of improvement in neurostatus was highly significantly higher (P < 0.001) than in patients with neurologic deficit existing for more than 15 days.

CONCLUSION

Patients with neurologic deficit because of spinal bone metastases benefit from early operative intervention. Urgent surgery is indicated in patients with less than 3 days of neurologic deficit.

Komplikationen bei operativer Dekompression an der tumorinfiltrierten Wirbelsäule

INTRODUCTION

This study evaluated the intra- and post-surgical complications on tumor affected spines. Complications were analyzed according to selected patient groups so that risk factors could be determined.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Between January 1999 and December 2004, 401 patients underwent surgery because of spinal metastases in the Department of Traumatology, General Hospital St. Georg in Hamburg. Data were obtained from the hospital's documentary system. The results of this study were compared to other published studies.

RESULTS

The average age of patients was 63 years (24-88) and there were 172 (42.9%) females and 229 (57.1%) males. A total of 118 (29.4%) patients suffered from 235 complications and 22 (5.5%) died.

DISCUSSION

Patient's age >70 years, patients with a preoperative neurological deficit, and patients with heavily bleeding metastases are at high risk for complications. The dorsoventral/dorsolateral approach had the highest complication rate.