Aim: The aim of this study was the evaluation of surgical results and prognostic factors in spinal metastases of renal cancer.
Methods: 37 surgical patients with spinal metastases of renal cell carcinoma were retrospectively analysed. In 2 patients the cervical, in 16 patients the thoracic, in 4 patients the thoraco-lumbar and in 16 patients the lumbar spine was involved.
Results: In 11 cases (29.7 %) a combined posterior-anterior spondylodesis with vertebral body replacement, in 26 cases (70.3 %) a single posterior instrumentation was done. Perioperatively, 24 complications appeared, 4 of them were lethal. Postoperatively, the neurological situation was unchanged in 26 patients, dischanged in 4 patients and improved in 7 patients. The level of pain was unchanged in 10 patients, dischanged in 3 patients and improved in 24 patients. The mean postoperative survival was 13.6 months. For the postoperative survival the Karnofsky-Index and the Frankel-Score were univariate highly significant, the factors nutritional condition and latency between the primary tumor and the development of spinal metastases showed a lower significancy. No prognostical influence for the postoperative survival could be detected for the factors gender, age, localisation of the metastases, type of operation and the factor solitary/multiple metastases. The multivariate analyses did not attempt any of the univariate significant prognostic factors for the postoperative survival. The postoperative survival was significantly (p: 0.0030) influenced by postoperative adjuvant therapy (radio- and/or chemotherapy). The analysis of each adjuvant therapy form (i. e. chemo-, radio- and combined therapy) attempts this prognostic effect (p: 0.0229).
Conclusion: In most patients with spinal metastases of renal cell carcinoma, the singular posterior intrumentation combined with a decompression is a sufficient therapy. To avoid posterior implant failure, in patients with a prognosticated survival of more than one year, a combined posterior-anterior spondylodesis with vertebral body replacement should be done. The prognostic influence of an adjuvant postoperative treatment in the present study must be interpreted in the context of this small, highly selected patient collective. Further standardized studies should be performed to evaluate the prognostic influence of an adjuvant therapy.