Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29732420›Full record

ArticleJournal of spine surgery (Hong Kong)2018

Functional and survival outcomes in patients undergoing surgical treatment for metastatic disease of the spine.

Vignesh K Alamanda, Myra M Robinson, Jeffrey S Kneisl, Joshua C Patt

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Evaluating ambulatory function as an outcome following treatment for spinal metastases: a systematic review.The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society · 2021
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Posterior Endoscopic Cervical Decompression in Metastatic Cervical Spine Tumors: An Alternative to Palliative Surgery.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2022
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Vignesh K AlamandaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Myra M RobinsonDepartment of Cancer Biostatistics, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Jeffrey S KneislDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Joshua C PattDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Carolinas Healthcare System · USCarolinas Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRetrospective review of a prospective database. Spine metastasis has been shown to occur in 40% of cancer patients with an annual incidence of over 18,000 cases in North America alone. In this study, we sought to explore the functional and survival outcomes of patients undergoing surgical treatment for metastatic disease of the spine.

methodsA retrospective cohort study of a prospective database at a major cancer center was conducted. A total of 55 patients who met the inclusion criteria from January 2010 to December 2015 were included. Functional status was assessed through patient's ambulatory status. Patient and tumor characteristics were analyzed and regression analyses were performed.

resultsRenal cell carcinoma (RCC) was the most common subtype encountered (27.3%). Excluding patients who had spinal metastasis at time of diagnosis, the median time to spinal metastasis from cancer diagnosis was 2.5 years. Median overall survival (OS) time was 1.8 years post diagnosis and 1.6 years post-surgical intervention. Age and tumor subtype were independent predictors of death (P<0.05). Post-surgical intervention, only 3.6% of patients were unable to ambulate-an improvement from 12.7% seen in the immediate preoperative period, P=0.0253. However, at the time of final follow-up, this number had risen to nearly 37%, P<0.0001.

conclusionsSpinal metastasis portends a debilitating prognosis. Ambulatory status is improved or maintained in the post-surgical period. However, long-term outlook remains dismal with median survival at only 1.8 years following diagnosis of spinal metastasis and ambulatory status declining precipitously at the time of final follow-up.

Indexed as

ambulatory statusmetastatic diseasespineSurvival

Identifiers

PMID29732420
PMCPMC5911770
OpenAlexW2794859915

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.