Intramedullary Spinal Cord Metastasis from Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Impact of surgical treatment for intramedullary spinal cord metastasis on neurological function and survival: A multicenter retrospective study by the Neurospinal Society of Japan

BACKGROUND

This retrospective multicenter study aimed to analyze the characteristics and surgical outcomes of intramedullary spinal cord metastasis (ISCM) and to discuss the controversy regarding its surgical indications.

METHODS

This study included 29 ISCM patients who underwent surgery between 2009 and 2020. Biopsy cases were excluded from analysis. For functional and neurological functional assessments, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS, %) and modified McCormick Scale (MMS, 5-grade scale) scores were determined before and after surgery. Patients were divided into two groups: a mild-to-moderate disability group with preoperative MMS grades 1 to 3, and a severe disability group with preoperative MMS grades 4 to 5.

RESULTS

The mean preoperative KPS was 45.9, and the mean duration from symptom onset to surgical intervention was 1 month. The ISCM was located in the cervical spine in 10 cases and the thoracic spine in 19 cases. The access route (myelotomy) for ISCM removal was via the posterior median sulcus in 9 cases and via the posterior lateral sulcus in 11 cases, while others were not recorded. The degree of removal was gross total resection in 20 patients (69%), subtotal resection in 0 patients, and partial removal in 9 patients (31%). No significant complications related to the surgical procedures were recorded. Postoperative adjuvant therapy included radiotherapy in 17 patients (58.6%) and chemotherapy or molecular targeted therapy in 13 patients (44.8%). Pathological findings of ISCM showed that colorectal cancer was the most common in 9 cases, followed by lung cancer in 7, renal cell carcinoma in 5, and breast cancer in 2. Twenty-one of the 29 patients (72.4%) were confirmed to have survived 6 months after surgery: 8 of the 10 patients (80%) in the mild-to-moderate disability group and 13 of the 19 patients (68.4%) in the severe disability group. At 6 months after surgery, 3 of the 8 patients (38%) in the mild-to-moderate group were able to maintain or improve their function. Eleven of the 13 patients (85%) in the severe disability group maintained their function despite being severely disabled.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that surgical treatment can maintain or improve neurological function in a limited number of patients with ISCM, although it had minimal impact on improving the survival rate after surgery.

Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis of clear cell renal carcinoma in a Von Hippel–Lindau patient

Background:

Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis is uncommon and represents only 0.6% of all spinal tumors. Renal cell carcinoma is even less frequent in this group than in lung and breast cancer. Patients with Von Hippel– Lindau disease (VHLd) present spinal hemangioblastoma more frequently.

Case Description:

A 59-year-old female patient presented with medullary syndrome. There was a previous history of VHLd, with a cerebellar hemangioblastoma resection years ago. The radiological investigation showed a cervical intramedullary solid-cystic lesion. The patient has submitted a tumor resection, and a pathological and immunohistochemistry study confirmed clear cell renal carcinoma metastasis.

Conclusion:

In patients with VHLd, the presence of an intramedullary solid-cystic lesion may not represent always a hemangioblastoma. Other diagnostic possibilities must be evaluated, despite being epidemiologically less frequent. Inside the group of patients with VHLd, only a previous case of intramedullary spinal cord renal cell carcinoma was reported in the literature.

The Role of Surgery in Spinal Intradural Metastases from Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Due to the few reported cases of spinal intradural metastases from renal cell carcinoma (RCC), there is no unanimous consensus on the best treatment strategy, including the role of surgery.

METHODS

A wide and accurate literature review up to January 2022 has disclosed only 51 cases of spinal intradural metastases from RCC. Patients with extramedullary (19) and those with intramedullary (32) localization have been separately considered and compared. Demographics, clinical, pathological, management, and outcome features have been analyzed.

RESULTS

Extramedullary lesions more frequently showed the involvement of the lumbar spine, low back pain, and solitary metastasis at diagnosis. Conversely, the intramedullary lesions were most often detected in association with multiple localizations of disease, mainly in the brain. Surgery resulted in improvement of clinical symptoms in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Several factors affect the prognosis of metastatic RCC. The surgical removal of spinal metastases resulted in pain relief and the arresting of neurological deficit progression, improving the quality of life and overall survival of the patient. Considering the relative radioresistant nature of the RCC, the surgical treatment of the metastasis is a valid option even if it is subtotal, with a consequent increased risk of recurrence, and/or a nerve root should be sacrificed.

Chronic Pain Secondary to a Cervical Intramedullary Ependymoma: A Case Report

Intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCT) are a rare subset of neoplasms classified based on anatomical location. The most common presenting symptom is pain; however, the high prevalence of back pain in the general public secondary to common causes including degenerative disc disease or osteoarthritis, makes diagnosing spinal cord tumors a challenge. We present a case of a 43-year-old male with a cervical intramedullary ependymoma to discuss the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of these spinal tumors.

Recurrent Renal Carcinoma with Solitary Intramedullary Spinal Cord Metastasis

We report a case of an elderly male who has undergone right radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Six months later, he presented with gradually progressive low backache and mild lower limb weakness. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) was done that revealed a suspected area of mild metabolic activity in the spinal cords at the L1–L2 vertebral level. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed intramedullary spinal cord metastasis (ISCM). Solitary ICSM is a rare presentation of RCC on FDG PET-CT, and only a few case reports exist in the literature. This case highlights that adequate clinical history and careful examination of the PET images may reveal it.

Deceptive Features on Surveillance Imaging of Intraneural Metastatic Deposits in Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer

BACKGROUND

Spinal renal cell metastases are a common insidious pathological manifestation of the oncological process but less common are intramedullary and intraneural spinal metastases. The differential diagnosis of such pathological features can be difficult in the presence of conflicting radiological evidence.

CASE DESCRIPTION

In the present case report, we have detailed the clinical, diagnostic, surgical, and therapeutic progression of a 54-year-old man diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. After the initial presentation and treatment, he had presented with symptomatic right lower limb radiculopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging identified a well-defined cystic lesion expanding in the right exit foramina at L5-S1, suggestive of a benign schwannoma. After a multidisciplinary review, he was treated symptomatically and imaging surveillance for a 19-month period, with static lesion findings. Failure of symptomatic management resulted in operative intervention and subsequent histological diagnosis of the metastatic deposit.

CONCLUSION

To the best of our knowledge, the present report is the first documented case of intraneural metastatic deposits from renal cell carcinoma that showed benign radiographic features and demonstrated a stable appearance on surveillance imaging studies for a significant period. These findings suggest that clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for a metastatic process in symptomatic patients with a known renal cell cancer regardless of the lesion's radiographic or temporal characteristics.

Intramedullary Spinal Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Systematic Review of Disease Presentation, Treatment, and Prognosis with Case Illustration

OBJECTIVE

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) metastases to the intramedullary spinal cord carry a grim prognosis. The purpose of this review is to provide the reader with a comprehensive and systematic review of the current literature, and to present an illustrative case that would aid in the future management of similar scenarios.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature using the PubMed electronic database was made according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Only human clinical reports of intramedullary RCC metastasis were included. We also present an illustrative case that was treated at our institution.

RESULTS

We identified 23 reports with a total of 31 patients. Of the tumors, 47% were located at the cervical level. Brain metastases were present in 41% of cases. Limb weakness (72%), urinary incontinence (41%), dysesthesia (47%), and localized spinal pain (38%) were the most frequently reported symptoms. Surgical resection alone was used in 34% of cases, followed by a combination of surgery and radiotherapy (31%), and radiotherapy alone (25%). Spinal metastases were detected an average of 32.1 months after the diagnosis of RCC, and mean patient survival after that was 8 months (range, 0-65 months). Reported survival after radiotherapy appeared to be the longest (11.2 months) compared with surgery (9.1 months) and combination therapy (5 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Intramedullary spinal metastatic RCC is a rare entity with debilitating neurologic potential. Survival appears to be affected by the treatment method but is also likely influenced by the stage of discovery of the disease.