Surgical Treatment of Malignant Cervical Vertebra Tumors

Objective:To analyze the clinical results of the surgical treatment of malignant cervical vertebra tumors retrospectively.Methods:23 patients with cervical vertebra tumors were reported.There were 18 cases of metastatic tumor and 5 cases of primary tumor.According to the destruction characteristic of cervical vertebra and compression status of spinal cord in imaging examination,three kinds of surgical treatments through anterior,posterior or combined anterior-posterior approach,were employed to resect tumor,decompress spinal cord and re-stabilize cervical vertebra.There were 13 cases through anterior approach,8 cases through posterior approach,and 2 cases through combined anterior-posterior approach.Results:18 cases were followed successfully for 4 months to 4 years 6 months.The pain relieve rate was 89%.The nerve function in the follow-up was categorized by JOA criteria into three grades as excellent,good and bad.The total excellent/good rate was 46.5%.The minimal survival period was 5 months,the maximal survival period was 4 years 6 months,and survival periods of 23.5% of cases were above 2 years.Conclusion:Based on the destruction characteristic of cervical vertebra and compression status of spinal cord in imaging examination,and according to Momita surgical staging of spinal tumor,different surgical treatments could be selected to resect tumor,decompress spinal cord,re-stabilize cervical vertebra successfully.