Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29991240›Full record

ArticleNeurospine2018

Spinal Epidermoid Tumors: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Vivek B Beechar, Pascal O Zinn, Kent A Heck, Gregory N Fuller, Inbo Han, Akash J Patel, Alexander E Ropper

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurospine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% 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

18 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. [Spinal epidermoid cyst: Iatrogenic neuraxial anesthesia?]Revista medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social · 2026
    Article
  4. Spinal epidermoid cyst: illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2026
    Article
  5. Prognosis and strategies for reoperation in recurrent spinal tumors: an average 5-Year follow-up retrospective study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Infected congenital lumbosacral dermal sinus tract with conus epidermoid abscess: a rare entity.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2021
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. 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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Vivek B BeecharDepartment of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Pascal O ZinnDepartment of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Kent A HeckDepartment of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Gregory N FullerDepartment of Pathology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Inbo HanDepartment of Neurosurgery, CHA University, CHA Bundang Medical Center, Seongnam, Korea.
Akash J PatelDepartment of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Alexander E RopperDepartment of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Baylor College of Medicine · USCHA University Bundang Medical Center · KRThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spinal epidermoid tumors are rare, benign tumors that are either acquired from trauma, surgery, or lumbar puncture or arise as congenital lesions, particularly spinal dysraphisms. We report a case of a massive spinal epidermoid tumor and review the literature with a focus on the surgical outcomes. A 71-year-old female patient presented after a fall with subsequent symptoms of severe back and hip pain, as well as loss of motor strength in the left leg. Her magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a T2/short tau inversion recovery hyperintense mass extending from the level of the T10-11 disc caudally through S2. A biopsy was recommended to determine whether the tumor was radio- or chemo-sensitive. The patient underwent a L4 laminectomy and a pearly-white tumor was encountered, with a subsequent biopsy confirming it to be an epidermoid tumor. The following conclusions can be drawn from a review of the literature. Spinal epidermoid tumors are more common in women and tend to present in younger patients (median age of 23). The majority of patients had acquired lesions (46%). In terms of surgical outcomes for adherent tumors, gross total resection was found to provide optimal outcomes, with 90% of patients improving clinically after surgery.

Indexed as

Epidermoid cystEpidermoid tumorIntradural spine tumorSpine tumor

Identifiers

PMID29991240
PMCPMC6104727
OpenAlexW2809646289

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.