What is the best treatment for cancer in the spine?
Chemotherapy: MD Anderson offers the most up-to-date and advanced chemotherapy options for spinal tumors. These drugs may be taken orally or by injection. They may be given alone or with other treatments. Targeted therapies: These newer agents are used to help fight some types of spinal tumors.
How treatable is cancer on the spine?
Can it be cured? Historically spinal metastases have been considered incurable. However, recent studies suggest that with aggressive therapy, including surgical resection and/or stereotactic radiosurgery, some patients with one (or only a few) spinal metastases may have a chance for cure.
What is life expectancy with spine cancer?
Median survival of patients with spinal metastatic disease is 10 months. Spinal metastasis is one of the leading causes of morbidity in cancer patients. It causes pain, fracture, mechanical instability, or neurological deficits such as paralysis and/or bowel and bladder dysfunction.
Can cancer be removed from the spine?
The optimal treatment for a spinal cord tumor is in-part related to the type and location. However, the great majority are treated with surgical removal usually through a laminectomy and microsurgical resection. The goal of surgery is maximal but safe removal with avoidance of worsening neurological function.
What happens if cancer spreads to the spine?
When cancer spreads to the bones of the spine, it can press on the spinal cord. This can cause nerve damage that may lead to paralysis if not treated right away. As too much bone dissolves, calcium is released into the blood. This can lead to problems caused by high blood calcium levels (hypercalcemia).
What are the stages of spine cancer?
For instance, primary spinal tumors rarely spread beyond the spine and central nervous system. Therefore, while other cancers are usually classified by stages, there are no formal spinal cancer stages.
Is spine cancer a terminal?
Cancer in the spine may be fatal, depending on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed, or whether it is metastatic (spread) from other organs. Cancer in the spine occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control in the spinal cord or the bones, tissues, fluid, or nerves that make up the spinal column.
How quickly does spinal cancer spread?
Tumors that have spread to the spine from another site often progress quickly. Primary tumors often progress slowly over weeks to years. Tumors in the spinal cord usually cause symptoms, sometimes over large portions of the body. Tumors outside the spinal cord may grow for a long time before causing nerve damage.
What type of cancer spreads to the spine?
Cancers that commonly metastasize to the spine include lung, breast, prostate, melanoma, kidney, and thyroid cancers.
Where does spinal cancer usually start?
Most spinal cancer occurs inside the spinal column and usually doesn’t affect the spinal cord. Some of the cancers that may involve the spine include: Osteosarcoma: a type of bone cancer that may originate in the spine but is more common in the thigh and shin bones.
How serious is cancer in the spine?
Spinal tumors or growths of any kind can lead to pain, neurological problems and sometimes paralysis. A spinal tumor can be life-threatening and cause permanent disability. Treatment for a spinal tumor may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or other medications.
Is spinal cancer aggressive?
Spine cancer is aggressively abnormal cell growth in the spinal canal or the vertebrae of the spine that forms a malignant tumor(s). Spinal cord tumors and vertebral tumors can be cancerous or noncancerous, but either form can result in disability and even death.
What are the first signs of spinal cancer?
Vertebral tumor signs and symptoms may include:
- Pain at the site of the tumor due to tumor growth.
- Back pain, often radiating to other parts of your body.
- Back pain that’s worse at night.
- Loss of sensation or muscle weakness, especially in your arms or legs.
- Difficulty walking, sometimes leading to falls.
Where does cancer of the spine spread to?
The most common regions of the body for cancer cells to metastasize, or spread to, include the kidneys, lungs, and bones. When cancer spreads to a bone, it is typically one or more of the vertebrae because of the spine’s extensive venous network.
How fast does spine cancer spread?
The symptoms of spinal cancer may occur very slowly. Other times, they occur quickly, even over a matter of hours or days. Metastatic spinal tumors, which have spread to the spine from another location in the body, such as the prostate or kidneys, often progress quickly.