Clinical characteristics of 1385 sacral tumors and tumor-like lesions not including metastatic cancers in one institution in China

Abstract

Background: Sacral tumors and tumor-like lesions are a rare group of lesions that can affect children and adults of all ages. Little is known about clinical characteristics of age, gender, histologic type and anatomic site in China.Methods: 1385 patients with sacral tumors and tumor-like lesions, which had the clinical record at our bone tumor center from January 2000 to November 2018 were analyzed. The metastatic cancers were not included in the present study.Results: 51.7% (716 cases) were malignant and 48.3 % (669 cases) were benign tumors or tumor-like lesions. Of malignant tumors, chordoma was the most common malignant tumor (316 cases, 22.8% of all tumors), followed by chondrosarcoma, myeloma and other histologic types. The most common histological type of benign tumors was giant cell tumor accounting for 14.8% (205 cases) of all tumors, followed by neurofibroma, schwannoma and other types. The most common age group affected by malignant bone tumors was the 51- to 60-year-old group, followed by the 41- to 50-year-old group. The most commonly affected age group for benign tumors and tumor-like lesions was the 31- to 50-year-old group, followed by the 21- to 30-year old group. Furthermore, the following histologic types had the gender predilection. Chordoma, chondrosarcoma, myeloma and osteosarcoma affected more frequently males than females. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, lymphoma, giant cell tumor, neurofibroma, tuberculosis, teratoma and epidermoid cyst more frequently affected females than males.Conclusions: The large cohort of sacral tumors and tumor-like lesions in our database may reveal their clinical characteristics of age, gender, histologic type and anatomic site in China and features of sacral tumors and tumor-like lesions is fairly distinct from the mobile spine and extremities.