Overall Survival of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer With Spinal Metastasis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Neurosurgery
• Medical Statistics

Background:

• Long-term survival data for lung cancer with spinal metastases are vital for treatment planning but often limited by small study sizes.
• There is a need for survival benchmarking and analysis of temporal survival trends in this patient population.
• This study addresses the data gap by performing a meta-analysis of existing small studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a meta-analysis of survival data from lung cancer patients with spinal metastases.
• To generate a large-scale survival function for benchmarking purposes.
• To analyze survival trends over time and identify factors influencing outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A single-arm systematic review of survival functions was performed.
• Data from surgical, nonsurgical, and mixed treatment groups were meta-analyzed separately.
• Survival data were extracted from figures and processed using statistical software; median survival time was used for moderator analysis.

Main Results:

• Sixty-two studies with 5,242 participants were included.
• Median survival was 6.72 months for surgery, 5.99 months for nonsurgery, and 5.96 months for mixed treatments.
• Patients enrolled since 2010 demonstrated the highest survival rates, suggesting improved outcomes over time.

Conclusions:

• This meta-analysis provides the first large-scale survival data for lung cancer with spinal metastasis, enabling survival benchmarking.
• Survival data from patients enrolled since 2010 appear to be more representative of current outcomes.
• Future research should focus on this recent patient subset for benchmarking, fostering optimism in managing these complex cases.