Spinal tumors: Trends from Northern India

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Oncology
• Neurology

Background:

• Spinal tumors represent a diverse group of neoplasms affecting the spinal cord and surrounding structures.
• Understanding their relative frequencies, clinical presentations, and outcomes is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the relative frequency of different spinal tumor types.
• To evaluate the clinical profile, functional outcomes, and prognostic factors in patients undergoing surgery for spinal tumors.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 111 patients with spinal tumors operated over 9 years.
• Categorization of tumors into extradural, intradural extramedullary (IDEM), and intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCTs).
• Assessment of clinical features, preoperative symptoms, and postoperative functional status.

Main Results:

• Tumor distribution: 27% extradural, 36.1% IDEM, 36.9% IMSCTs.
• Common symptoms included motor weakness (70.27%), sensory loss (49.54%), pain (41.44%), and sphincter dysfunction (42.43%).
• Functional improvement observed in 79.27% of patients; 65.3% of initially dependent patients became ambulatory.

Conclusions:

• Congenital tumors like epidermoids/dermoids are more frequent in developing countries compared to spinal meningiomas.
• Intramedullary tumors occur with similar frequency to IDEM tumors and present at a younger age in developing nations.
• Preoperative neurological status is the most critical factor influencing the outcome of spinal tumor surgery.