A spinal tumor is a cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign) growth that develops within or near your spinal cord or within the bones of your spine. Although back pain is the most common symptom of a spinal tumor, it's also an extremely common problem in people who don't have spinal tumors. In fact, most back pain isn't caused by a tumor.
A spinal tumor or a growth of any kind can affect nerves in the area of the tumor, leading to pain, neurological problems and sometimes paralysis. Whether cancerous or not, a spinal tumor can threaten life and cause permanent disability.
Treatment for a spinal tumor may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or other medications.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spine Tumors
Q. What is the central
nervous system?
A. The brain and the spinal cord form the
central nervous system. It controls walking, talking, breathing and digesting
food. It is also involved with our senses – seeing, hearing, touching, tasting
and smelling – as well as our emotions, thoughts and memory.
Q. What are spine
tumors?
A. Spine tumors are abnormal growths of tissue
found in and around the spine. Tumors in the spine may be primary (begin in the
spine) or secondary (metastatic – move to the spine from other locations).
The most common cancers that move to the spine are breast, lung, renal and
prostate.
Q. What are metastatic
spine tumors?
Metastatic is a term that describes cancer
that has spread from its primary site to other places in the
body. Metastatic spine tumors are abnormal growths of tissue that are
found in and around the spine, but that began in another location in the body.
The skeletal system is the third most common site of metastases.
Most often cancer that moves to the spine is
not fatal, although it can cause pain and compress nerves. Nerves that are
compressed can cause weakness or paralysis of the arms or legs. Treatment of
spine tumors is focused on maintaining quality of life.
Q. Where are spine tumors located?
Q. Where are spine tumors located?
A. The majority of spine tumors are located in
the center of the back. But they also occur in the lower back or neck
region. The location of the tumor determines the symptoms experienced.
Q. What are the
symptoms of spine tumors?
A. Some patients have no symptoms. The most
common symptom, however, is pain. Patients may experience persistent back
or neck pain. Other complaints may include numbness, tingling or weakness
in the arms or legs, problems walking and maintaining balance or problems with
bowel and bladder function.
Q. How is a spine
tumor diagnosed?
A. The most common test is a magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine, which will show the soft tissues and
nerves of the spinal column. Plain X-rays will show vertebral fractures,
common when the tumor invades the spinal bones. A computerized tomography (CT)
scan shows the bones more clearly and can help to determine the extent of the
bony disease. Other tests include CT scans of the chest, abdomen and
pelvis or a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to determine where else the
cancer may be.
Q. What are the
treatments for spine tumors?
A. The type of treatment that is best for you
depends on the type of your tumor, the location of the tumor and how much tumor
is in the spine. Your options may include:
- No medical treatment
- Managing your pain
- Surgery
- Radiation and/or chemotherapy
- Vertebroplasty (injecting bone cement into spine bones
to make them strong)
Q. When is surgery
necessary?
A. The role of surgery for metastatic spine
tumors is to improve or maintain quality of life. There are a number of
reasons why surgery would be a good treatment option for spine tumors:
- Surgical cure, if tumor can be removed
- Control of tumor growth by surgical removal, sometimes
accompanied by radiation and/or chemotherapy
- Alleviation of symptoms by reducing pressure on nerves
and stabilizing spine to prevent deformities, collapse or paralysis
The goal is usually to reduce the severity of
symptoms, including:
- Reduction of pain
- Restoration of spine stability to improve mobility
- Preservation of neurological function
- Alteration or change in prognosis
Q. How do I know if I
am a candidate for surgery?
A. The following are factors that determine if
you are a candidate for surgery:
- Medically stable
- Expected survival of three months or more
- Extent of systemic disease
Q. What are the
surgical options?
A. The type of surgery your doctor recommends
will depend on the type of tumor, its location and the symptoms you are
experiencing. If you have weakness, numbness or paralysis of arms and legs
or a change in bladder or bowel function, an open surgical procedure may be
necessary.
- Closed procedure (vertebroplasty) – Using a needle, the
surgeon injects special cement into the vertebral body damaged by the
tumor.
- Open procedures – These procedures may be done with a
surgical incision on the front or back
o Decompression: to remove bone that has the tumor and to increase the space around the spinal cord and nerves
o Stabilization: application of screws, rods or cement to stabilize the spinal column
o Combination: both of the above procedures; may be staged one or more days apart
Q. How long is the
recovery period after surgery?
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A. Your length of stay in the hospital will
vary by the extent and type of surgery. A typical hospital stay after
spinal tumor surgery is 5 to 10 days, although each person will respond
differently and recover differently.
Following surgery, you may need help with
activities of daily living. This is referred to as rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation may be done in an inpatient setting, which means you are
admitted to a rehab unit or hospital. It can also be done as an
outpatient, which means you could receive therapy in your home or be
transported to a rehab facility during the week.
A. The non-surgical treatment options for
spinal tumors are observation, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
- Observation – Tumors that cause mild or no symptoms and
do not appear to be progressing may be observed and monitored with regular
MRIs.
- Radiation therapy – If you are a candidate to receive
radiation therapy to the spine, you will be evaluated by a radiation
oncologist who specializes in radiation treatments. Radiation
therapy, if indicated, may be delayed to allow time for healing after surgery.
This will be determined by your doctors.
- Chemotherapy – Usually, chemotherapy for spinal tumors
is not indicated. If you require chemotherapy for systemic cancer,
you will be referred back to your original oncologist to make
determinations regarding chemotherapy.
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