Spinal Cord Injury From Spinal Tumors: Prevalence, Management, and Outcomes

With the aging population in the United States, it can be anticipated that the prevalence of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and cancer will increase. Primary or metastatic spine tumors sit at a unique intersection of these 2 realms. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence, outcomes, and complications after the management of SCI arising from spinal tumors.

In the present retrospective evaluation, all patients with SCI and a diagnosis of primary or metastatic spinal cancer who had been admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation unit at a level 1 trauma center from January 2003 to January 2014 were evaluated. The demographic data (age, sex, race/ethnicity), tumor characteristics, American Spinal Injury Association score, and complications were evaluated.

A total of 757 SCI entries were identified, and 685 unique patients met our inclusion criteria. Of those, 81 had SCIs due to spinal tumors (11.8% of all SCIs and 19.2% of nontraumatic SCIs). Most tumors were located in the thoracic region (65.4%) and were primary central nervous system in origin (21.0%), including meningioma (7.4%), schwannoma (3.7%), and ependymoma (2.5%). The next most common origins of the spinal tumors were metastases from the lung (17.3%), prostate (9.9%), kidney (8.6%), lymphoma (7.4%), and multiple myeloma (7.4%). Of these patients, 76.5% underwent surgical management, with a complications rate of 61.3%. The overall mortality rate at the latest follow-up examination was 63.0%.

SCI associated with spinal tumor is often managed surgically and associated with high rates of complications. The present study has demonstrated longer survival rates compared with the existing data.