Intraspinal tumors: analysis of 184 patients treated surgically

Intraspinal tumors are rare central nervous system neoplasms. The reported clinical features of intraspinal tumors have varied in previous studies. We present here the cases of 184 patients with intraspinal tumors treated surgically in our hospital and a review of the literature.

We conducted a retrospective review of 184 patients with intraspinal tumors who underwent surgical treatment in our institution between 2002 and 2013. Their age, sex, initial presentation, tumor location, level of affected vertebral column, histological diagnosis, and primary origin of the metastatic tumor were reviewed and analyzed.

Of these 184 patients, 97 (52.7%) were men and 87 (47.3%) were women. The mean age was 56.3 years (range 7-83 years). A total of 102 (55.4%) had primary tumors, while 82 (44.6%) patients had developed metastatic tumors. The histological diagnosis of the primary tumors included 55 (53.9%) schwannomas, 16 (15.7%) meningiomas, six (5.9%) ependymomas, five (4.9%) neurofibromas, three (2.9%) hemangiomas, two (2.0%) hemagioblastomas, and 15 (14.7%) other tumor types. The most common primary sites of the metastatic tumors were the lung and breast.

Primary tumors were more numerous than metastastic tumors in our series of patients. For the primary tumors, our study showed a higher proportion of nerve sheath cell tumors (schwannomas and neurofibromas) and fewer meningiomas and neuroepithelial tumors compared with reports from non-Asian countries. In addition, the lung was the most common origin of the metastatic tumors and more than half of these tumors were located at the thoracic spine. Back pain and radicular pain were the most common presentations in patients with intraspinal tumors.