1. Management of Malignant Spinal
Cord Compression
Dr. Shreya Singh
JR – III
Department of Radiation Oncology
IMS, BHU
2. Malignant Spinal Cord Compression
(MSCC)
• Occurs when cancer cells grow in/near to
spine and press on the spinal cord & nerves
• Results in swelling & reduction in the blood
supply to the spinal cord & nerve roots
• The symptoms are caused by the increasing
pressure (compression) on the spinal cord &
nerves
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3. Epidemiology
• Affects 5-10% of the cancer patients (ByrneTN , N Eng J
Med,1992)
• 20 % patients lack a history of cancer (Bach et al ,Acta
Neurochir (Wien) 1990 )
% of MSCC Primary Site
25% Lung
16% Prostate
11% Multiple Myeloma
7% Breast
(Prasad et al, LancetOncology , 2005)
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4. Method of Spread
Primarily develops in one of four ways :
o Continued growth and expansion of vertebral bone
mets into epidural space
o Neural foramina extension by any paraspinal mass
o Destruction of vertebral cortical bone, causing
vertebral body collapse with displacement of bony
fragments into the epidural space
o Rarely primary hematogenous seeding to the
epidural space
4
9. Spinal Cord Metastasis
o Epidural type of compression
o Throacic spine is most common site of involvment
o Lumbar and Sacral spine – Prostate and ovarian
o Synchronous, multifocal lesions may be present
o MRI is the standard modality for imaging
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11. Clinical Features
o Common symptoms in decreasing order of frequency :
Back pain (70-90%) – precedes neurologic deficits by 7 weeks
Motor deficits (60-90%)
Sensory deficits (45-90%)
Autonomic dysfunction (40-75%)
o Pain is aggravated by lying down
o New onset back pain in cancer patients : RED FLAG SIGN
o Oncological emergency - Requires very prompt diagnosis &
treatment to try and prevent catastrophic consequences of paralysis
& incontinence
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13. • History of onset and progression
• History of primary cancer stage and control
• General assessment of patient’s health status
• Examination – sensory, motor and autonomic symptoms
• Rule out – herniated disc, trauma, osteoporosis, abscess
• Imaging – whole spine
• Blood chemistry – Hypercalcemia in extensive vertebral mets
Workup :
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14. MRI
o Gadolinium enhanced MRI of whole spine is the investigation of
choice provided there are no specific contra-indications
o Sagittal T2 supplemented with axial T1 or T2 weighted scans
o Detects paraspinous & intramedullary masses
o Ensures that spinal cord compression at other levels is not missed
and identifies metastases affecting asymptomatic vertebrae
o Features :
o Hypodense in T1
o Does not cross the adjacent disc space
o Thecal sac indentation in T2 14
17. Other Imaging Modalities
• Multi-slice CT scan –
Quick and has the ability to image the whole spine
less sensitive than MRI for detecting metastases
may be needed to provide additional information on bone
integrity and stability to help plan surgery
• CT Myelography -
For patients with specific contraindication to MRI ( those
who have a cardiac pacemaker or in whom there is already
metal work in the spine which degrades MR image quality
by metal artifact)
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18. Other Imaging Modalities
• PET-CT –
Both sensitive and specific in the diagnosis of MSCC
No evidence that PET-CT provides additional relevant
information to MRI
• Radioisotope bone scanning –
Very sensitive for the detection of metastases
Does not show the extent of soft tissue compression of the cord
Not reliable in detecting the level of cord compression
• Plain radiology –
Not as sensitive for detecting metastatic bone disease
as MRI and does not readily show soft tissue abnormalities
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19. Grading - Bilsky MSCC grading scale
o Grade 0 –
• Only bony vertebral lesion
o Grade 1 -
• 1a : Grade 0 + Epidural extension
• 1b : 1a + Thecal sac indentation
• 1c : 1b + Touching cord
o Grade 2 –
• Grade 1+ SCC without blocking
CSF
o Grade 3 –
• Grade 2 + Blockage of CSF flow
Ref : Bilsky MH, Laufer I, Fourney DR, et al. Reliability analysis of the Epidural
Spinal Cord Compression Scale. J Neurosurg Spine 2010;13(3):324–328 19
20. Prognostic Features
• Rapidity of symptom onset
• Radiosensitive histology
– Multiple myeloma
– Germ cell tumors
– Small cell carcinoma
• Pre-therapy ambulatory status
• Status of primary disease
• Performance status
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21. • Pain control
• Avoidance of complications
• Preserve or improve neurological function
• Provide adequate analgesia
Treatment Objectives
Patient should be kept on bed rest
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22. Steps to be followed
• Step 1 :
Histologic diagnosis : necessary to get biopsy from the spinal
cord lesion when the primary in unclear (unknown or lower
stage tumour diagnosed long back) before starting
radiotherapy/chemotherapy /steroids
• Step 2 :
Initiation of corticosteroids
• Step 3 :
Evaluate life expectancy, performance status and extent of
disease to decide from the treatment options
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23. Corticosteroids
• Must be started as soon as possible in suspected
case of MSCC, even before radiographic diagnosis
• Decrease cord edema and serve as an effective
bridge to definitive treatment
• Very high doses of corticosteroids are associated
with significant side effects – gastric ulcer, rectal
bleeding, intestinal perforations
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24. Dosage
• Loading dose : 10 mg of IV dexamethasone
• Maintenance dose : 4 to 6 mg every 6 to 8 hours before
being tapered
• Patients can be safely switched to an oral regimen after
24 to 48 hours because there is good oral bioavailability
of corticosteroids
• Patients should be started on a PPI for GI prophylaxis.
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26. Surgery
CONCLUSION : Direct decompressive surgery
plus postoperative radiotherapy is superior to
treatment with radiotherapy alone for patients
with spinal cord compression caused by
metastatic cancer
Patchell et al , The Lancet 2005
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27. Indications for Surgery
• KPS at least 40
• Unstable spine
• At least 3 months life expectancy
• Duration of paraplegia less than 24 hours
• Intractable pain
• Rapid progression in spite of RT
• Unknown primary tumour
• Relapse post RT
• Relatively radioresistant cancer
• Bony fragment impinging on cord
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28. Surgical Procedure
• Traditionally used posterior
laminectomy is now obsolete
due to high rate of
complications
• 360 degree decompression and
concomitant stabilization done
with modern techniques has
best outcomes
• Kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty
are relatively contraindicated in
MSCC (NCCN)
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29. • Palliative radiotherapy has been the standard of care in the
treatment of patients with MSCC
• Although a total of 30 Gy in 10 fractions is the most frequently
employed fractionation schedule, multiple fractionation
schemes have been employed which include :
– 37.5 Gy in 15#
– 40 Gy in 20#
– 30 Gy in 10#
– 20 Gy in 5#
– 8 Gy in 1#
Radiotherapy
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32. Long Course ( 10 x 3 Gy, 15 x 2.5 Gy, 20 x 2 Gy)
vs
Short Course RT (1 x 8 Gy, 5 x 4 Gy)
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33. Conclusion
• The five RT schedules provided similar functional
outcome
• The three more protracted schedules seemed to
result in fewer in-field recurrences
• Short course RT schedules are associated with
more re-treatment rates because of high
incidence of local recurrences along with
requirement of higher dose of analgesics
afterwards
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34. Radiotherapy
• For patients receiving radiotherapy for MSCC, 30
Gy in 10 fractions is considered the standard of
care
• Shorter fractionation schedules, such as 8 Gy × 1
or 4 Gy × 5 are reserved for those with clear
evidence of progressive disease refractory to
systemic therapy in whom survival expectations
are poor
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35. Radiotherapy
• If patient has a good performance status,
oligometastatic disease and controlled primary
disease – consider for dose escalation beyond 30 Gy
to achieve greater long-term gross tumor control
while respecting dose constraints
• Special techniques such as IMRT or fractionated SBRT
should be considered to safely escalate the total
dose
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36. 36
• EBRT with Portal 8 cm wide
• Direct posterior field
• Prone position
• Centered on spine
• Extends one to two vertebral
bodies above and below the lesion
• Prescription depth :
3 cm- cervical spine – 3 cm
Dorsal spine – 4 cm
Lumbosacral spine – 5 to 6 cm
RT Technique
Cervical spine can be treated with two lateral parallel opposed
fields to avoid unnecessary exit dose to oral cavity
37. Role of Chemotherapy
May be useful in :
o Germ cell tumours
o Lymphomas
o Multiple myeloma
o Breast and prostate cancer (hormonal manipulation)
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38. Paediatric MSCC
• Primary disease - Neuroblastomas (commonest), Ewing’s
sarcoma, Wilm’s tumour
• Pathogenesis - Tumour extension to the epidural space
through the neural foramina , so called “dumbell tumour”
• Usually chemotherapy plays main role in treatment (French
Society of Pediatric Oncology Protocol NBL-90)
• Tumours rapidly progressing despite chemotherapy should be
operated
• RT is used for palliation when all modalities fail
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39. Intramedullary Spinal Cord Metastasis
(ISCM)
• Most commonly secondary to a lung primary followed by breast
cancer
• Sensory deficits, sphincter dysfunction, and weakness are more
common in ISCM
• High incidence of synchronous brain metastasis
• Corticosteroids as well as radiation therapy should be promptly
initiated
• Limited role of surgery due to high morbidity
• Poor prognosis with median survival of 1 to 5.5 months
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40. Recurrence After Long Course RT
• Surgery if possible and indicated
• If surgery is not feasible, re-irradiation
with high precision
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41. SBRT in MSCC
• SBRT is effective in providing adequate local disease control in
combination with surgery or as a sole treatment in carefully
selected cases
• It has become the preferred mode of treatment when
complete local ablation of a metastatic lesion is indicated
• It is currently being practiced as an alternative to conventional
palliative radiation in primary treatment, re-irradiation, and in
the postoperative setting at several centers
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46. Dose
De novo spine metastasis :
o 18 to 24 Gy in 1 fraction
o 24 Gy in 2 fractions
o 30 Gy in 3 fractions
Spine Re-irradiation :
o 30 Gy in 4 fractions
Post-op Spine RT :
o 24 Gy in 2 fractions
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47. Outcomes of SBRT
• Acute toxicity is mild and very limited in spine SBRT with
5% or less reported rates of severe and undesirable
(grade 3 or higher) adverse events
• Complications of radiation-induced myelopathy are
extremely rare with SBRT
• Doses ≥ 20 Gy per fraction must be used with great
caution as they are associated with significantly higher
risks of VCF
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50. Supportive Care and Rehabilitation
• Braces and collars for support
• Paraplegic patients - thigh length compression stockings
• If treated by surgery - high risk of thromboembolism. So,
LMWH should be used prophylactically (Dose :Enoxaparin 40
mg S.C. OD)
• Paraplegic patients should be provided with air mattresses or
cushions with every 2-3 hourly posture changing to prevent
decubitus ulcer
• Catheterization of urinary bladder for bladder dysfunction
• Judicious use of laxatives for constipation
• Psychological support
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