Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39829178›Full record

ArticleAsian spine journal2025

Computed tomography Hounsfield unit values as a treatment response indicator for spinal metastatic lesions in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective study in Japan.

Hiroshi Taniwaki, Sho Dohzono, Ryuichi Sasaoka, Kiyohito Takamatsu, Masatoshi Hoshino, Hiroaki Nakamura

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Asian spine journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Hiroshi TaniwakiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yodogawa Christian Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Sho DohzonoDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yodogawa Christian Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Ryuichi SasaokaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fuchu Hospital, Izumi, Japan.
Kiyohito TakamatsuDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yodogawa Christian Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Masatoshi HoshinoDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka Saiseikai Nakatsu Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Hiroaki NakamuraDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designA retrospective study. PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the impact of increased Hounsfield unit (HU) values for metastatic spinal lesions measured via computed tomography on the overall survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and identify factors associated with increased HU values in metastatic spinal lesions. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Previous studies have underscored the utility of the HU as a marker of treatment response in metastatic bone lesions. However, no prior studies have explored the relationship between HU changes in response to treatment and overall survival in patients with NSCLC.

methodsThis study included a total of 85 patients between 2016 and 2021. Nonsurgical treatments were provided by the respiratory medicine department. HU values for metastatic spinal lesions were evaluated upon diagnosis of spinal metastasis (baseline) and at 3, 6, and 12 months thereafter. Patients were then divided into two groups based on the median HU increase from baseline to 3 months. Overall survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

resultsBased on the median change in HU value (124), 42 and 43 patients were categorized into the HU responder and non-responder groups, respectively. The median overall survival was significantly longer in the HU responder group than in the HU non-responder group (13.7 months vs. 6.4 months, p <0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the use of antiresorptive agents and molecularly targeted therapies were factors significantly associated with an increase in HU.

conclusionsAn increase in HU values for metastatic spinal lesions after 3 months of treatment was correlated with a significantly longer overall survival in patients with NSCLC. Thus, HU measurements may not only serve as an easy and quantitative approach for evaluating treatment response in metastatic spinal lesions but also predict overall survival.

Indexed as

Hounsfield unitLung neoplasmsMolecular targeted therapyNeoplasm metastasisPrognosis

Identifiers

PMID39829178
PMCPMC11895105

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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.