[Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis treated with radiation therapy: report of 3 cases].
OBJECTIVE
Intramedurally spinal cord metastasis (ISCM) tends to be seen in the end period of the malignant tumor, so it is important to choose a therapeutic method regarding the QOL (quality of life) of the patient. In this study, we reported three cases of ISCM treated by radiation therapy alone, and demonstrated the utility of this therapeutic procedure.


METHODS
From 2005 to 2006, 3 cases of ISCM underwent radiotherapy in our institution. The mean age of the patients was 64.0 years old, and all patients were men, having lung carcinoma as their primary lesions. The lesions were located at the cervical cord in one case and the conus medullaris in the other two cases. They were treated by radiotherapy at the department of radiology in our institute.


RESULTS
The tumor size and intramedullary high signal area on MR images after the radiotherapy were reduced in all patients. During the clinical course, neurological symptoms were improved in two patients, and progression of the symptoms was stopped in one patient. All of the patients obtained a better ADL due to the radiotherapy.


CONCLUSIONS
Radiotherapy has an advantage over surgical treatment in that it involves less invasion. The treatment brought improvements of clinical symptoms and radiological findings in the patients with ISCM. So, radiotherapy could be used as one of the major treatments for patients with ISCM who desire a better QOL after treatment.
Endo
Shogo
S
Department of Neurosurgery, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
Hida
Kazutoshi
K
Yano
Shunsuke
S
Ito
Masaki
M
Yamaguchi
Shigeru
S
Kashiwazaki
Daina
D
Kinoshita
Rumiko
R
Shirato
Hiroki
H
Iwasaki
Yoshinobu
Y
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D016896:Treatment Outcome