BLUSPIER PRIZE FINAL PRESENTATIONS – SETTING UP A METASTATIC SPINAL CORD COMPRESSION DATABASE

The rate of Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression (MSCC) has been increasing over recent years with increased patient survival from improved cancer treatment. MSCC presents an increasing demand for spinal surgical resources. NICE guidance was issued in 2008 to improve diagnosis and management and to prevent unnecessary delays which may result in disability. The recent advances in management of cancers coupled with improved spinal surgical approaches have improved the outcome in MSCC. Early surgery has been shown to improve restoration of function. A recent systematic review found that surgery produced superior results to radiotherapy alone for the management of MSCC. However, the quality of evidence so far is mostly from observational studies.We would like to use Bluespier to create a database of MSCC patients referred to our tertiary centre. Our database would include all adult patients referred to the spinal surgical service with MSCC. Information recorded would be the diagnosis, time of onset and imaging,...