High-Grade Spinal Hemangioma: A National Cancer Database Analysis

BACKGROUND: Spinal hemangiomas are common primary tumors of the vertebrae. Although these tumors are most frequently benign and asymptomatic, they can rarely exhibit aggressive growth and invasion into neighboring structures. Treatment for these aggressive variants is controversial, often involving surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy. This study sought to investigate current trends affecting overall survival (OS) using the National Cancer Database (NCDB) and to formulate treatment recommendations.METHODS: The National Cancer Database was queried for spinal hemangiomas between 2004 and 2016. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to perform multi-variate regression analysis of survival. Survival curves for comparative visualization of demographic and treatment factors were generated using a semiparametric Cox approach.RESULTS: A cohort of 102 patients with histologically confirmed spinal hemangiomas was identified in the database. Mean OS was 1.94 years. Administered treatments included partial surgical resection (n = 17), radical resection (n = 14), chemotherapy (n = 34), and radiotherapy (n = 56). Multivariate analysis revealed associations between decreased OS and advanced age (>65 years) and presence of metastasis. Cox survival analysis further revealed improved OS in patients who received surgical treatment and higher radiation dose.CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective analysis finding that treatment with surgical resection and/or radiotherapy is associated with increased OS constitutes the largest cohort of patients with aggressive vertebral hemangiomas to date. Given that the mean OS of the study cohort was 1.94 years, our findings suggest that the optimal treatment regimen to maximize survival should consist of early surgical resection with adjuvant high-dose radiotherapy.