Doxycycline sclerotherapy of cervical spine aneurysmal bone cysts: single-institution 13-year experience

Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are benign, locally aggressive neoplasms that typically affect patients during their first two decades of life. Curettage with or without bone grafting or adjuvants is the current standard treatment; however, other surgical and medical treatments, such as sclerotherapy, have been reported. Treatment options for cervical spine ABCs are more limited because the proximity of ABCs to critical structures leads to greater risk of spontaneous or treatment-related adverse events, including death.

To retrospectively review all children and young adults with cervical spine ABCs treated with doxycycline sclerotherapy at one referral center to assess its viability as a standalone treatment.

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical notes and imaging of 16 patients treated with doxycycline sclerotherapy for pathologically proven cervical spine ABCs at our institution between May 2008 and March 2021. All patients underwent image-guided percutaneous doxycycline sclerotherapy to ablate the ABC and stimulate bone formation. We assessed clinical outcomes through chart review and described post-treatment imaging outcomes using modified Neer scoring.

Of the 16 total children and young adults treated, 2 were lost to follow-up, leaving 14 patients with a median age of 14.5 years. Twelve of these 14 patients were successfully treated with doxycycline sclerotherapy for a success rate of 86%. One patient experienced one treatment-related complication (Society of Interventional Radiology [SIR] adverse event classification D), before ultimately being successfully treated. Doxycycline treatment failed in two patients, who then underwent surgical management. Post-treatment imaging of successfully treated cases had a mean modified Neer score of 1.3, whereas post-treatment imaging in failed cases had a mean score of 3.5.

Doxycycline sclerotherapy is a viable standalone treatment for cervical spine ABCs because it is safe and effective while avoiding the morbidity associated with open surgical treatments.