Neoplastic Vertebral Compression Fractures Research Articles

Improved pain and quality of life outcomes after percutaneous vertebroplasty for thoraco-lumbar non-osteoprotic compression fractures

Introduction: Vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive technique in which percutaneous injection of bone cement under fluoroscopic guidance Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) has been widely and successfully accepted in the treatment of osteoporotic and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures to control pain refractory to medical treatment. However, using of vertebroplasty as primary line treatment for traumatic, non-osteoporotic compression fractures still not widely accepted and considered a debatable issue.
 Patients and methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted at Neurosurgery department, Mansoura university hospital and Mansoura emergency hospital through the period between January 2015 and March 2016. 20 patients complaining of back pain due to single level thoracolumbar vertebral compression non-osteoprotic fractures were admitted to the study. Patients were divided into two groups 10 patients each, PVP group and conservative group. Outcome were assessed as regard pain improvement using Visual analogue scale VAS and quality of life using short form 36 scale (SF36).
 Results: Ten patients in the PVP group received Vertebroplasty, eight males (80%) and two females (20%) the age ranged from 29 to 62 years with mean age of 44.2+8.3 (mean+SD) years. The conservative group included ten patients seven males (70%) and three females (30%) the age ranged from 31 to 64 years with mean age of 45.1+9.2 (mean+SD) years. The level of injury ranged from D6 to L4. VAS and SF36 results showed significant improvement in post injection results compared to preinjection and to the conservative group
 Conclusion: Percutaneous vertebroplasty is safe and effective procedure to improve pain and quality of life in non osteoprotic patients complaining of traumatic compression fractures of thoraco-lumar region it decreases pain, and provide early ambulation of patients which improve their quality of life without significant morbidity.

Quantitative evaluation of T2* relaxation times for the differentiation of acute benign and malignant vertebral body fractures

ObjectivesThe aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of T2*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to differentiate between acute benign and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). Materials and methodsThirty-seven consecutive patients with a total of 52 VCFs were prospectively enrolled in this IRB approved study. All VCFs were categorized as either benign or malignant according to direct bone biopsy and histopathologic confirmation. In addition to routine clinical spine MRI including at least sagittal T1-weighted, T2-weighted and T2 spectral attenuated inversion recovery (SPAIR)-weighted sequences, all patients underwent an additional sagittal six-echo modified Dixon gradient-echo sequence of the spine at 3.0-T. Intravertebral T2* and T2*ratio (fracture T2*/normal vertebrae T2*) for acute benign and malignant VCFs were calculated using region-of-interest analysis and compared between both groups. Additional receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed. Five healthy subjects were scanned three times to determine the short-term reproducibility of vertebral T2* measurements. ResultsThere were 27 acute benign and 25 malignant VCFs. Both T2* and T2*ratio of malignant VCFs were significantly higher compared to acute benign VCFs (T2*, 30 ± 11 vs. 19 ± 11 ms [p = 0.001]; T2*ratio, 2.9 ± 1.6 vs. 1.2 ± 0.7 [p < 0.001]). The areas under the curve were 0.77 for T2* and 0.88 for T2*ratio, yielding an accuracy of 73% and 89% for distinguishing acute benign from malignant VCFs. The root mean square absolute precision error was 0.44 ms as a measure for the T2* short-term reproducibility. ConclusionQuantitative assessment of vertebral bone marrow T2* relaxation times provides good diagnostic accuracy for the differentiation of acute benign and malignant VCFs.

Proton density fat fraction (PDFF) MR imaging for differentiation of acute benign and neoplastic compression fractures of the spine.

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of proton density fat fraction (PDFF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to differentiate between acute benign and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). Fifty-seven consecutive patients with 46 acute benign and 41 malignant VCFs were prospectively enrolled in this institutional review board approved study and underwent routine clinical MRI with an additional six-echo modified Dixon sequence of the spine at a clinical 3.0-T scanner. All fractures were categorised as benign or malignant according to either direct bone biopsy or 6-month follow-up MRI. Intravertebral PDFF and PDFFratio (fracture PDFF/normal vertebrae PDFF) for benign and malignant VCFs were calculated using region-of-interest analysis and compared between both groups. Additional receiver operating characteristic and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Both PDFF and PDFFratio of malignant VCFs were significantly lower compared to acute benign VCFs [PDFF, 3.48 ± 3.30% vs 23.99 ± 11.86% (p < 0.001); PDFFratio, 0.09 ± 0.09 vs 0.49 ± 0.24 (p < 0.001)]. The areas under the curve were 0.98 for PDFF and 0.97 for PDFFratio, yielding an accuracy of 96% and 95% for differentiating between acute benign and malignant VCFs. PDFF remained as the only imaging-based variable to independently differentiate between acute benign and malignant VCFs on multivariate analysis (odds ratio, 0.454; p = 0.005). Quantitative assessment of PDFF derived from modified Dixon water-fat MRI has high diagnostic accuracy for the differentiation of acute benign and malignant vertebral compression fractures. • Chemical-shift-encoding based water-fat MRI can reliably assess vertebral bone marrow PDFF • PDFF is significantly higher in acute benign than in malignant VCFs • PDFF provides high accuracy for differentiating acute benign from malignant VCFs.

173 EVOLVE - Significant Improvements in Pain, Disability, Quality of Life and Overall Health with Use of Balloon Kyphoplasty for Vertebral Compression Fractures in Medicare-Eligible Patients Despite Minimal Improvements in Vertebral Body Height an

Abstract INTRODUCTION Osteoporotic and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures (VCF) are common and painful. In the U.S., there are more than 1.5 million vertebral fractures annually and 40% of those over the age of 80 will experience this pathology, threatening quality of life and increasing morbidity and mortality. Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive surgery to stabilize the fracture and recent EVOLVE analysis demonstrated minimal improvement in kypohotic angulation or vertebral body height, however, patients demonstrated significant improvements in pain, disability, quality of life and overall health. METHODS Prospective, multicenter 12-month clinical study of outcomes pertaining to activities of daily living, pain, quality of life, and safety parameters in a Medicare-eligible population treated with kyphoplasty for painful acute or subacute VCFs associated with osteoporosis or cancer. RESULTS &gt;NRS back pain improved from 8.7 (scale 0–10) by 5.2, 5.4, 6.0, 6.2 and 6.3 points, at the 7-day, and the 1, 3, 6 and 12-month time points, respectively. ODI improved from 63.4 (scale 0–100) by 30.5, 35.3, 36.3 and 36.2 points, at the 1, 3, 6 and 12-month time points, respectively. The SF-36 PCS was 24.2 at baseline (scale 0–100) and improved 10.7, 12.4, 13.4 and 13.8 points, at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. The EQ-5D was 0.383 points (scale 0–1) and improved 0.316, 0.351, 0.356 and 0.358 points, at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. All measures were statistically significant with P &lt; 0.001 at every time point. Despite these significant improvements in pain, disability, qulity of life and overall health, there were only modest, but significant improvements in kyphotic angulation (1.1° improvement) and vertebral body height (4% improvement). CONCLUSION This large, prospective, multicenter study trial demonstrates that utilization of kyphoplasty for vertebral compression fractures provides significant improvements in pain, disability, quality of life, and overall health despite modest improvements in kyphotic angulation and vertebral body height in Medicare-eligible patients.

Quantitative Analysis of the Diffusion-Weighted Steady-State Free Precession Signal in Vertebral Bone Marrow Lesions

: Diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession (DW-SSFP) sequences have shown great potential for the differential diagnosis of benign osteoporotic and malignant neoplastic vertebral compression fractures, which appear hypo- to isointense or hyperintense in DW-SSFP magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. In contrast to other diffusion weighting sequences, the DW-SSFP signal depends not only on the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), but also on the tissue relaxation times and sequence parameters. The purpose of the present study was to provide a detailed analysis of the DW-SSFP signal in benign and malignant vertebral lesions (VLs) and in vertebral bone marrow (VBM) to understand the observed signal alterations and their dependence on tissue and sequence parameters. : Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 40 patients with benign (n = 20) or malignant (n = 20) VLs to determine the fat fraction and tissue parameters (ADC, T1, T2, T2*) for both the water and fat signal. With these values, the DW-SSFP signal was simulated and compared with the measured signals for different diffusion gradients by determining the signal intensity ratio between the SSFP signals of the lesions and of normal-appearing VBM for both malignant and benign VLs. : The simulated DW-SSFP contrast agreed well with the measured contrast and provided a very good differentiation between benign osteoporotic and malignant VLs. ADCs were significantly different in both lesion types (malignant 1.36 vs. osteoporotic 1.77 × 10 mm/s); however, the observed contrast differences were caused predominantly by an opposed-phase readout in combination with significantly different T2* values (malignant 22 vs. osteoporotic 14 ms) and fat fractions (malignant 3.9% vs. osteoporotic 12%) in the lesions as well as significantly different fat fractions in normal-appearing VBM (malignant 42% vs. osteoporotic 52%) of both patient groups. : Although the ADCs of the evaluated malignant and benign VLs showed highly significant differences, the influence of diffusion on the DW-SSFP signal contrast is relatively low compared with other tissue parameters due to the very complex signal mechanism of the SSFP sequence. Thus, the observed DW-SSFP signal contrast of different VLs (hypo-/isointense vs. hyperintense signal) is rather fat- and T2*-weighted than diffusion-weighted. The intermediate diffusion weighting of the applied SSFP sequence, however, helps to shift the different contrasts into a signal range that is easily visually accessible.

La kyphoplastie par ballonnets : nouvelle technique dans le traitement percutané des tassements vertébraux

Balloon assisted kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty are minimally invasive procedures with established value in the management of osteoporotic and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures. Kyphoplasty, a variation of vertebroplasty, is a technique with indications and therapeutic particularities that require validation.

Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation and Reconstruction with an Intravertebral Mesh and Morcelized Bone Graft

Percutaneous vertebral augmentation (VA) and reconstruction with intravertebral polyethylene mesh sac (OptiMesh) and morcelized bone graft provided a minimally invasive efficacious and controlled delivery mechanism to stabilize and treat painful osteoporotic, traumatic and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), as well as avoided serious complications from Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) of Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty. Osteoconductive and osteoinductive and can be used to create biologic vertebral reconstruction. The adjacent vertebra integrity should be more protected by the construct with a similar elasticity and physical characteristics of the morcelized bone, more matched to that of adjacent bone than PMMA. The indications and surgical techniques are described herein.

Treating Osteoporotic and Neoplastic Vertebral Compression Fractures with Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty

Compression fractures are common in patients with osteoporosis and cancer. In particular, vertebral compression fractures are crippling, and pose an additional risk of cord compression. Although a number of nonmedical options such as bracing and exercise programs may help these patients, the combination of constant, severe pain and spinal instability was until recently almost invariably synonymous with painful gradual deterioration and a poor quality of life. Vertebroplasty, and more recently kyphoplasty, are minimally invasive procedures that aim at limiting or reversing painful collapse of the vertebrae, while providing stability to the treated segment of the spine. As these new options are highly effective and involve minimal risk, it is important that physicians be familiar with them. This paper reviews the demographics of vertebral compression fractures, both osteoporotic and neoplastic, the technical aspects of vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, and current results and outcomes. Pain relief rates in excess of 90% have been reported with both vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty in patients with vertebral compression fractures. Procedural complication rates should be very low, in the 1%-2% range at most with proper technique. Until the advent of vertebroplasty, almost no effective therapeutic option could be offered to patients suffering from neoplastic or osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, which are relatively common and often crippling. The technical feasibility of these procedures is high, the risk low, and the effectiveness high. Therefore, it is important that physicians consider vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty as viable and strong options.

Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Malignant Vertebral Fractures

SummaryThe purpose of this retrospective study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of Percutaneous Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty, in the treatment of pain deriving from neoplastic vertebral compression fractures (VCF).We treated 33 oncologic patients with these new techniques (2 pts with aggressive haemangiomas, 8 pts with myelomas and 23 pts with metastases) suffering from severe motion pain in the back, notwithstanding conservative treatment with medication and corset therapy, in the absence of neurological signs.In 3 selected patients we associated radiofrequency heat ablation with vertebroplasty in the treatment of metastases. The aim is to destroy tumor tissue and to thrombose the paravertebral and intravertebral venous plexus before stabilizing the vertebra.

Acute osteoporotic and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures: fluid sign at MR imaging.

To evaluate the occurrence, location, and shape of the fluid sign in acute osteoporotic and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The study group comprised 87 consecutive patients with acute vertebral compression fractures due to osteoporotic (n = 52) or neoplastic (n = 35) infiltration. The MR imaging protocol included nonenhanced T1-weighted spin-echo and short inversion time inversion-recovery sequences and a 1.5-T system. Readers blinded to the outcome documented the occurrence, shape, and location of the fluid sign with consensus. The fluid sign was correlated with the cause, age, and severity of the fracture. The diagnosis was confirmed with surgery, follow-up MR imaging, clinical follow-up, or unequivocal imaging findings. Wilcoxon and chi(2) tests were used to assess significance. In fractured vertebral bodies, the fluid sign was adjacent to the fractured end plates and exhibited signal intensity isointense to that of cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid sign was linear (n = 16), triangular (n = 5), or focal (n = 2) and was significantly associated with osteoporotic fractures (21 [40%] of 52; P <.001). The fluid sign occurred in two (6%) of 35 neoplastic compression fractures. Histologic examination demonstrated osteonecrosis, edema, and fibrosis at the site of the fluid sign. There was a tendency toward older fractures exhibiting the fluid sign, but this relationship was not significant (P >.05). In osteoporotic fractures, the fluid sign was significantly associated with fracture severity (P <.05). The fluid sign is featured in acute vertebral compression fractures that show bone marrow edema. It can be an additional sign of osteoporosis and rarely occurs in metastatic fractures.