Evaluation of the Relevance of Surgery in Patients with Multiple Myeloma Harboring Symptomatic Spinal Involvement: A Retrospective Case Series

Which factors are associated with adverse prognosis in multiple myeloma patients after surgery? - preliminary establishment and validation of the nomogram

BACKGROUND

To investigate the prognosis of patients with Multiple Myeloma (MM) after surgery, analyze the risk factors leading to adverse postoperative outcomes, and establish a nomogram.

METHODS

Clinical data from 154 patients with MM who underwent surgery at our institution between 2007 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Assessing and comparing patients' pain levels, quality of life, and functional status before and after surgery (P < 0.05) were considered statistically significant. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to estimate the median survival time. Adverse postoperative outcomes were defined as worsened symptoms, lesion recurrence, complication grade ≥ 2, or a postoperative survival period < 1 year. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the prognostic factors. Based on the logistic regression results, a nomogram predictive model was developed and calibrated.

RESULTS

Postoperative pain was significantly alleviated in patients with MM, and there were significant improvements in the quality of life and functional status (P < 0.05). The median postoperative survival was 41 months. Forty-nine patients (31.8%) experienced adverse postoperative outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified patient age, duration of MM, International Staging System, preoperative Karnofsky Performance Status, and Hb < 90 g/L as independent factors influencing patient prognosis. Based on these results, a nomogram was constructed, with a C-index of 0.812. The calibration curve demonstrated similarity between the predicted and actual survival curves. Decision curve analysis favored the predictive value of the model at high-risk thresholds from 10% to-69%.

CONCLUSION

This study developed a nomogram risk prediction model to assist in providing quantifiable assessment indicators for preoperative evaluation of surgical risk.

Analysis of the efficacy of separation surgery for severe neurological compression in multiple myeloma: a retrospective analysis of 35 cases

PURPOSE

To investigate the effectiveness and safety of separation surgery for Epidural Spinal Cord Compression (ESCC) graded ≥ 2 in patients with Multiple Myeloma (MM), analyze factors influencing surgical outcomes, and develop a preliminary treatment decision framework for these patients.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data from 35 MM patients who underwent separation surgery for ESCC graded ≥ 2 between 2013 and 2018. Patient data, including baseline information, surgical details, complications, and pre-operative as well as one-month post-operative efficacy evaluation indicators were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed on pre-operative and post-operative efficacy indicators to determine if there were significant improvements (p < 0.05). Ordered logistic regression was utilized to assess factors associated with an unfavorable post-operative quality of life outcome.

RESULTS

Compared to pre-operative values, at one-month post-surgery, patients showed significant improvements in Frankel Score Classification (4 vs 5, p < 0.05), Karnofsky Performance Score (30 vs 70, p < 0.05), and Visual Analogue Scale (8 vs 3, p < 0.05). Complications occurred in 7 cases (20%). The number of segments with ESCC (OR = 0.171, p < 0.05) and pre-operative chemotherapy (OR = 5.202, p = 0.05) were identified as independent factors influencing patient outcomes. Patients with more than two vertebral segments with ESCC exhibited significantly worse post-operative conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Separation surgery effectively alleviates pain, improves neurological function, and enhances the quality of life in patients with ESCC graded ≥ 2 due to MM.

Lesions of the spinal cord caused by multiple myeloma: A systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the neurosurgical aspects of patient management

Background

Multiple Myeloma is a B-cell malignancy which can cause variety of lesions of the spine and spinal cord. The management of patients with spinal cord compression (SCC), and the efficacy and security of minimally invasive therapeutic approaches, are the main topics of discussion.

Methods

To systematically review the scientific literature on neurosurgical aspects of MM spinal cord lesion management, a search was conducted among scientific papers in the databases ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and PubMed using keywords and Boolean operators. These comprise MM and lesions of the spine and spinal cord. Each database was searched from the earliest available article to January 2017.

Results

According to the literature, low-dose radiotherapy, antimyeloma medications, and bisphosphonates comprise the mainstay management for symptomatic spinal lesions. The decision to operation is based on presence of myelopathy and degree of spinal cord compression.

Conclusions

As a result of the analysis, the following conclusions may be drawn: (1) surgery is a valuable option for MM patients with symptomatic spinal involvement who experience rapid neurological deterioration with SCC and/or mechanical instability and (2) it is important to ensure that the benefits of surgical treatment outweigh the risks, as patients with MM are susceptible to infections.

Vertebral multiple myeloma with pathological fracture: the most common etiology for emergency spine surgery in patients with no cancer diagnosis on admission

OBJECTIVE

Vertebral compression fractures are common in multiple myeloma (MM). Modern treatment paradigms place emphasis on treatment with radiation, with surgery reserved for cases involving frank instability or severe neural compression. However, experience at the authors' institution has led them to suspect a more prominent role for surgical intervention in some settings. The authors undertook the present study to better understand the incidence of MM in undiagnosed patients who require urgent surgery for pathological vertebral fracture.

METHODS

The authors reviewed a prospectively collected database of all patients who underwent surgery with the senior author at their main hospital between June 1, 1998, and June 30, 2020. Patients admitted from the emergency room or after transfer from another hospital who then underwent surgery for pathological fracture during the same admission were included in the final analysis. Patients scheduled for elective surgery and those with previous cancer diagnoses were excluded.

RESULTS

Forty-three patients were identified as having undergone urgent surgical decompression and/or stabilization for pathological fracture. Histopathology confirmed diagnosis of MM in 22 (51%) patients, lung metastasis in 5 (12%) patients, and breast metastasis in 4 (9%) patients. Twelve (28%) patients were diagnosed with other types of metastatic carcinoma or undifferentiated disease. Sixteen of 29 (55%) men and 6 of 14 (42%) women were diagnosed with MM (p = 0.02). Seventeen of 34 (50%) patients who underwent surgery for neurological deficit, 5 of 6 (83%) patients who underwent surgery for spinal instability, and 0 (0%) patients who underwent surgery for pain with impending spinal cord injury were diagnosed with MM (p = 0.12).

CONCLUSIONS

A majority of patients presenting to the authors' hospital with no history of malignancy who required urgent surgery for pathological compression fracture were found to have MM or plasmacytoma. This disease process may affect a significant portion of patients requiring decompressive or stabilizing surgery for compression fracture in academic medical centers.

Surgical Management of Multiple Myeloma With Symptomatic Involvement of the Spine

INTRODUCTION

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the most frequent primary malignancy of the spine. We aimed to investigate the clinical presentation, surgical indications and outcomes, complications, survival, and its influencing factors in surgically treated MM patients with symptomatic involvement of the spine (SIS).

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Out of 350 MM patients treated at our institution over a period of 12 years (2006-2018), we identified 24 patients who were surgically treated for SIS. We collected data on demographics, clinical presentation, comorbidities, surgical indications, and outcomes and investigated the factors predisposing to postoperative complications and survival.

RESULTS

The median follow-up duration was 85 months; median overall survival (OS) was 50 months. Clinical presentation at admission included pain (88%), sensory and/or motor deficit (67%), and bowel/bladder dysfunction (25%). Symptomatic pathological fractures were seen in 33%. Predominant surgical indications were rapid neurological deterioration with or without spinal cord compression (SCC), followed by mechanical instability. The majority of our patients benefited from surgery in terms of pain reduction in the short term as well as in the long term. There were 21% patients with surgical-related complications (<3 months). Surgical site infections occurred in 17%, without any obvious factors predisposing to infective complications. Neurological deterioration during hospital stay, especially in the presence of motor deficit and/or bowel/bladder dysfunction, significantly reduced OS.

CONCLUSIONS

Sudden-onset neurological deterioration was the predominant factor leading to surgery. We achieved good short- and long-term pain reduction. Surgery is a valuable option for MM patients with SIS who present with rapid neurological deterioration with or without SCC and/or mechanical instability.