Surgical treatment of multiple spine metastases from gastrinoma

Study design: Case report. Clinical question: To report successful surgical therapy for spinal cord compression in a patient with spinal metastases from a pancreatic gastrinoma. Methods: A 43-year-old man presented three times within 4 years with cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord compression because of metastatic gastrinoma. He had two previous spine metastases to the lower thoracic and lumbar spine, a T11 compressive lesion which required a T9L1 fusion, and an L4 lesion that was treated with chemotherapy and stereotactic radiation. The compression was relieved each time by surgery. Results: The patient underwent three surgeries in 4 years: (1) debulking and removal of the rib head on the left at T3, and debulking of the tumor at T3 with hemilaminectomy and spinal cord decompression with internal fixation from T1–T5 using posterolateral instrumented fusion and allograft; (2) anterior C7 corpectomy with placement of a cage from C7–T1 with both anterior and posterior fusion of C2C7; and (3) T1–T3 laminectomy, T1–T3 exploration of wound, revision of hardware, T1–T3 removal of spinal tumor, and T3 bilateral transpedicular circumferential decompression. The patient is alive and regained the ability to walk 8 years after initial diagnosis, despite the appearance of spinal metastases 1 year after the diagnosis of liver metastases. Conclusion: Surgery for spinal cord compression in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors can be effective in relieving radicular pain, weakness and numbness, and while not curative can greatly improve quality of life.