Approaching spinal metastases spread profile

Abstract Background Spinal metastases cause significant morbidity. The vertebral column is the most common site of cancer metastasis, however predilection of metastases for the spine is not fully understood. Objective The aim of the present investigation was to obtain a better description of the distribution of spinal metastases. The main objective of our study was to figure out how malignant cells disseminate within the spine and determine a potent mapping or profile of the metastatic spread routes. Study design A prospective French national multicenter database. Methods 740 consecutive patients were treated for spine metastasis (SpM) between January 2014 and 2017. A categorisation of the anatomical distribution of spine lesions was conducted. Results One hundred and seventy patients (22.9% of series) presented cervical SpM, 440 (60%) lumbar SpM, and a majority 530 (71.6%) at the thoracic vertebral level. Metastases were more often present in the vertebral body (645 patients, 87.2%) than in a posterior location (278 patients, 37.6%, p  Conclusions Although we determined that some tumors have a significant propensity to localise at certain vertebral level, it remains premature to conclude on a spinal metastases profile. To date, it is too early to provide recommendations in imaging follow-up or in preventive therapeutic based on this mapping of spine metastases.