Short-term outcomes after spinal surgery for metastatic breast cancer: A single-center analysis

Advances in detection and breast cancer treatment lead to higher survival rates, with more patients living with spine metastases. Those surgeries are palliative; however, they can improve the quality of life (QOL).

The aim of this study is to report pain and neurological function outcomes after surgery for spinal metastatic disease of breast cancer patients of a single institution. Complications were recorded.

A retrospective, single-center, single-arm study was performed. Consecutive patients who underwent spinal surgery were included. We analyzed demographic, surgical, histopathological, and clinical data.

Seventeen women were included. Three patients (17.6%) did not present pre- and postoperative pain (n = 3), 6 (35.3%) had pain in both situations, and 8 (47.1%) were pain-free postoperatively (P = 0.013). Ten (58.8%) patients had preoperative deficits: 3 (30%) did not improve and 7 (70%) improved after surgery. Six cases (35.2%) did not present preoperative deficits and did not get worse (n = 6). The Frankel classification after the following time showed that 11 patients (64.7%) remained stable after surgery and 5 patients (29.4%) got better. A single patient (5.6%) had deterioration of strength. Two patients (11.7%) had intraoperative complications.

Pain was significantly improved by surgery, with also a possibly positive effect on functionality. Considering the low complication rates, surgery is still a useful tool in the management of spinal metastases in breast cancer patients and may be related to better QOL.