Spinal dumbbell tumors: an analysis of a series of 118 cases

Abstract

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Object</jats:title> <jats:p>The authors analyzed a series of 118 cases of spinal dumbbell tumors to elucidate the feature of the tumors.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>Of 674 cases of spinal cord tumors, the incidence of dumbbell tumors was studied. The tumors were analyzed, and the authors focus on the distribution of age and sex, the pathological diagnoses, their locations, Eden classification, and the surgical methods used.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>The incidence of dumbbell tumors was 18%. The mean patient age was 43 years, which was younger than that for all spinal cord tumors (mean 50 years). There were 11 patients younger than 10 years of age. The rate of dumbbell tumors in the cervical spine was significantly higher than that of all spinal cord tumors. Fifteen (18%) of the 81 schwannomas were observed in the C-2 nerve root, thus having a higher incidence than those in the other nerve roots. In 99 cases (84%), the tumors were removed through a hemilaminectomy with or without a facetectomy and posterior fusion. Of 118 cases, 69% of the tumors were schwannomas, and malignant tumors were found in 10 cases (8.5%). Seven (64%) of 11 patients younger than 10 years of age had malignant tumors. Three patients older than 10 years of age had malignant tumors, thus accounting for 2.8% of the 107 older patients.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>The incidence of dumbbell tumors was 18%, and they are not uncommon. Malignant dumbbell tumors were more common in children younger than 10 years of age than in older patients.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Posterior Hemi-/Laminectomy and Facetectomy Approach for the Treatment of Dumbbell-Shaped Schwannomas in the Subaxial Cervical Spine: A Retrospective Study of 26 Cases

“…There is no controversy about the surgical approach for the mere intraspinal or paravertebral tumor, which is classified as Eden type 1 or type 4 [4, 13]. This study focused on the surgical treatment for Eden types 2 and 3.…”

“…This study focused on the surgical treatment for Eden types 2 and 3. There is still great controversy about the approach used for the removal of these 2 types of tumors [4, 9]. Jiang et al [8] classified the dumbbell tumors into 7 types on the basis of Eden’s classification and according to the tumor size in the external vertebra, whether tumor invades into the vertebra, the relationship between the location of the intraspinal tumor and the spine cord, and so on.…”

“…The choice for a surgical approach for dumbbell tumors in cervical spine remains controversial [4, 9]. The one-stage anterior approach was reported to remove the dumbbell tumors including the intra-dural components [14].…”

“…The incidence of dumbbell tumors is 13.71–17.5% in spinal cord tumors [3, 4]. The rate of dumbbell tumors in the cervical spine was significantly higher than that of other spinal segments [5].…”

Epidemiology of Surgically Treated Primary Spinal Cord Tumors in Miyagi, Japan

“…Many studies of the population-based epidemiology of primary spinal cord tumors have been conducted in USA and Europe [3,4,5,6,7,8]. To our knowledge, there are no population-based studies in Asia including Japan, although many case series had been reported [9,10]. …”