Computed Tomography Morphometric Analysis for Translaminar Screw Fixation in the Upper Thoracic Spine of the Pediatric Population

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: While surgical resection has been shown to improve short-term local disease control, it remains debated whether surgical resection is associated with improved overall survival in patients with malignant primary osseous spinal neoplasms. We reviewed survival data from a US cancer registry spanning 30 years to determine if surgical resection was independently associated with overall survival.METHODS: The SEER registry was queried to identify cases of histologically confirmed primary spinal chordoma, chondrosarcoma, osteosarcoma, or Ewing's sarcoma of the mobile spine and pelvis via ICD-O-2 coding. Patients with systemic metastasis were excluded. Age, sex, race, tumor location, and primary treatments were identified. Extent of local tumor invasion was classified as confined within periosteum vs extension beyond periosteum to surrounding tissues. The association of surgical resection with overall survival was assessed via Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis adjusting for age, radiotherapy, and tumor invasiveness.RESULTS: Eight-hundred, twenty-seven patients were identified with non-metastatic primary osseous spinal neoplasms (215 chordoma, 282 chondrosarcoma, 158 osteosarcoma, 172 Ewing's sarcoma). Overall median survival was histology specific (chordoma: 96 months, Ewing's sarcoma: 90 months, chondrosarcoma: 88 months, osteosarcoma: 18 months). Adjusting for age, radiation therapy, and extent of local tumor invasion in patients with isolated (non-metastatic) spine tumors, surgical resection was independently associated with significantly improved survival for chordoma (Hazard Ratio [95% confidence interval (CI); 0.617 (0.25-0.98)], chondrosarcoma (HR [95%CI]; 0.153 [0.07-0.36]), osteosarcoma (HR [95%CI]; 0.382 [0.21-0.69]), and Ewing's sarcoma (HR [95%CI]; 0.494 [0.26-0.96]).CONCLUSION: In our analysis of a 30-year US population based cancer registry (SEER), patients undergoing surgical resection of primary spinal chordoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, or osteosarcoma demonstrated prolonged overall survival independent of patient age, extent of local invasion, or location. Surgical resection may play a role in prolonging survival in the multi-modality treatment of patients with these malignant primary osseous spinal neoplasms.

Biomechanics and Clinical Application of Translaminar Screws Fixation in Spine: A Review of the Literature

“…Patel et al 42 reported that TLS fixation was also a feasible option for upper thoracic fixation in the pediatric population. Using CT morphometric analysis, the authors studied lamina from T1-T4 in children aged 3 months to 17 years.…”