Brachytherapy in Spinal Tumors: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Neurosurgery
• Radiation Oncology

Background:

• Spinal tumors are commonly treated with external beam radiation and stereotactic radiosurgery.
• Intraoperative brachytherapy (BT) presents an alternative or adjunct therapy for spinal tumors.
• Systematic review of BT in spinal tumor surgery was conducted.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the existing literature on the use of brachytherapy in the surgical treatment of spinal tumors.
• To evaluate patient outcomes and indications for brachytherapy in spinal tumor management.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed and Embase databases.
• Adherence to PRISMA guidelines for study selection and data extraction.
• Meta-analysis of included studies.

Main Results:

• 15 studies involving 370 patients were included; 78% had spine metastases.
• Indications included refractory tumors and intolerance to other treatments.
• Seed placement (58%) was more common than plaques (42%). Tumor recurrence ranged from 13% to 49%, with significant pain improvement reported.

Conclusions:

• Brachytherapy is utilized for metastatic spinal disease in patients with failed prior therapies or intolerance to standard treatments.
• Spinal BT is a viable treatment option for spinal tumors.
• Availability of spinal BT at treatment centers is recommended.