Trends in Survival and Surgical Methods in Patients Surgically Treated for Metastatic Spinal Tumors: 25-Year Experience in a Single Institution

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine trends in postoperative survival and surgical methods over a 25-year period in patients surgically treated for metastatic spinal tumors. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of patients who underwent surgical treatment for metastatic spinal tumors between 1996 and 2020. For trend analysis, the study cohort was divided into three groups according to the year of surgery: 1996–2004, 2005–2012, and 2013–2020. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to examine survival, and the log-rank test was used to compare the survival of the top six common cancers among the periods. The surgical methods were grouped and examined as follows: fixation only, palliative decompression and fixation, gross total removal and fixation, and total en bloc spondylectomy. RESULTS: This study included a total of 608 patients. There were 78 patients in 1996–2004, 236 in 2005–2012, and 294 in 2013–2020. Regarding the overall survival trend, the group 2013–2020 had a significantly improved survival as compared to the other two groups (p < 0.001). According to specific cancer sites, significant survival improvement was observed in patients with lung, kidney, and breast cancers (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.022, respectively). There were no significant changes in the primary sites of the liver, colorectum, or prostate. Regarding surgical methods, the proportion of gross total tumor removal declined, whereas the proportion of palliative decompression and fixation and fixation only procedures increased. CONCLUSIONS: During the past 25 years, significant survival improvement was observed in patients with lung, kidney, and breast cancers. There was no improvement in survival in patients with liver, colorectal, and prostate cancers. In terms of surgical techniques, palliative decompression and fixation only procedures increased, while gross total tumor removal declined.