Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41502905›Full record

ArticleJOR spine2026

Metastatic Spine Disease Alters Vertebral Load-To-Strength Ratios in Cancer Patients Compared to Healthy Individuals.

Dennis E Anderson, Mario Keko, Joanna James, Brett T Allaire, David Kozono, Patrick F Doyle, Heejoo Kang, Sarah Caplan, Tracy Balboni, Alexander Spektor and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JOR spine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Dennis E AndersonDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5171-7445
Mario KekoDepartment of Orthopedics Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston Massachusetts USA.
Joanna JamesDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Brett T AllaireDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
David KozonoHarvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Patrick F DoyleDepartment of Radiation Oncology Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USA.
Heejoo KangDepartment of Radiation Oncology Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USA.
Sarah CaplanDepartment of Radiation Oncology Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USA.
Tracy BalboniHarvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Alexander SpektorHarvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Mai Anh HuynhHarvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Mary L BouxseinDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
David B HackneyHarvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Ron N AlkalayDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9198-8039

Funding

FRAMINGHAM HEART STUDY - YEAR 5 EXAM75N92019D00031 · NHLBI · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · 2019 to 2024
$29.8M
Biomechanics of Vertebral Fracture: The Framingham QCT StudyR01AR053986 · NIAMS · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI BOUXSEIN, MARY L · 2007 to 2016
$5.4M
Predicting Fracture Risk in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy for Spinal Metastatic DiseaseR01AR075964 · NIAMS · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI ALKALAY, RON N, BALBONI, TRACY A. · 2020 to 2024
$3.2M
Influence of Spinal Loading on Vertebral FractureR01AR073019 · NIAMS · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI BOUXSEIN, MARY L, SNYDER, BRIAN D · 2018 to 2022
$2.8M
Pre-Operative QCT Planning Protocol for Treating the Structural Deficiency of SpiR01AR055582 · NIAMS · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI ALKALAY, RON N · 2008 to 2011
$1.5M
Predicting Fracture Risk in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy for Spinal Metastatic DiseaseR56AR075964 · NIAMS · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI ALKALAY, RON N, BALBONI, TRACY A. · 2019 to 2019
$662k
NHLBI NIH HHS 75N92019D00031NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR053986NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR055582NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR073019NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR075964NIAMS NIH HHS R56 AR075964
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the effect of bone metastasis on the biomechanical environment of human vertebrae in patients with metastatic spine disease through the metric of load-to-strength ratio (LSR). Specifically, we compared the patients' LSRs to age and sex-similar noncancer controls from the Framingham Heart Study. Methods: Derived from clinical CT data of 135 metastatic spine disease patients planned for radiotherapy and 246 normative controls from the Framingham Heart Study, individualized spinal musculoskeletal models and vertebral strength estimates were used to compute level-specific LSR under natural standing and three weight-holding conditions (standing + weight, flexion + weight, and lateral bending + weight). Results: Adjusted for age, BMI, and spinal region, osteosclerotic and mixed lesion vertebrae had higher strength than osteolytic and control vertebrae. The musculoskeletal models suggested breast, prostate, and male lung cancer patients had higher compressive vertebral loading, and female lung cancer patients had lower compressive vertebral loading than controls. Male patients had higher standardized LSRs in natural standing, while female patients had lower LSRs for all activities than controls. Independent of sex, vertebrae with osteosclerotic and mixed bone metastasis had lower LSRs than controls, while, for osteolytic bone lesions, males had higher and females lower LSRs than controls. Vertebrae with no observed lesion on CT had higher LSRs than controls in males and lower LSRs in females. Discussion: Our findings highlighted that primary cancer and lesion type differentially affected task-specific vertebral loading and strength, thus modifying the vertebral LSRs. Sex-mediated differences in LSRs between FHS controls and vertebrae with no observed metastatic lesions suggest that considering the latter as "normal" should be taken with care. Our initial assessment supports further examination of whether vertebral LSR measurements are associated with vertebral risk and, if so, what threshold values indicate risk. Level of Evidence: 3.

Indexed as

load‐to‐strength ratiometastatic spinal diseasemusculoskeletal modelspathologic vertebral fracturepatient cohortvertebral strength

Identifiers

PMID41502905
PMCPMC12772981

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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.