Survival and Functional Outcomes after Surgical Treatment for Spinal Metastasis in Patients with a Short Life Expectancy

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the survival and functional outcome after surgery in spinal metastasis patients with a short life expectancy and to compare the baseline characteristics based on 3-month survival. A total of 492 surgical treatment cases with a preoperative revised Tokuhashi score ≤ 8were reviewed. Median survival was calculated and Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to analyze the survival rates at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years postoperatively. The surgical period was divided into three time frames to examine the time trends. For the functional outcome, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG-PS) was analyzed. This study categorized subjects based on 3-month survival and compared the baseline characteristics. The median overall survival was 10.6 months. The 2013–2020 period showed a significantly better median survival than the other two periods (p p ≤ 2 increased from 37.4% preoperatively to 63.7% postoperatively (p < 0.001). There were significantly more cases of preoperative favorable performance status, slow and moderate growth cancers, and chemotherapy after surgery in the survival ≥3 months group. Depending on the type of primary cancer, surgery can be considered even in spinal metastasis patients with a short life expectancy, particularly those with a good performance status.

Keywords

• spinal metastasis
• short life expectancy
• survival rate
• prognosis
• functional outcome
• surgical treatment