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Updated: May 14, 2026
Image-Guided Resection of Glioblastoma and Intracranial Implantation of Therapeutic Stem Cell-seeded Scaffolds
Published on: July 16, 2018
Surgery for Symptomatic Spinal Metastases of Glioblastoma
Vigneshwar Venkatesh1, Seevakan Chidambaram1, Alejandro N Santos1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
Background:
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, accounting for 12-20% of intracranial neoplasms. Spinal metastases from GBM are rare, occurring in only 0.4-2.0% of cases. Due to their rarity, the role of surgical resection remains poorly defined, particularly regarding survival and symptom control. This study presents an illustrative case and a systematic review evaluating outcomes of surgical intervention in symptomatic spinal GBM metastases.
Methods:
We report a 56-year-old female with intracranial GBM who developed symptomatic spinal metastases two years post-treatment. She underwent T4-T6 laminectomy with gross total resection of a thoracic spinal lesion. A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE (OVID), Embase (OVID), and PubMed. Two independent reviewers screened studies using the Covidence platform, and the process followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Primary outcomes included survival time after spinal metastasis diagnosis, symptom-free survival, and postsurgical symptom improvement.
Results:
The patient experienced significant symptom relief postoperatively but deteriorated rapidly, passing away four months later. The review included 40 studies. Surgical resection yielded a symptom improvement rate of 62%, compared to 5% in nonresection cases. Mean survival was 9.5 months in the resection group versus 6.45 months in the nonresection group. Symptom-free survival was inconsistently reported.
Conclusions:
Surgical resection may offer palliative benefit and modest survival advantage in selected patients with spinal GBM metastases. Despite a poor overall prognosis, symptom control appears improved with surgery. Further research is warranted to guide evidence-based treatment strategies.
