title: What Is the Value of Surgical Intervention for Sacral Metastases?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the impact of surgery on local control and quality of life for patients with sacral metastases and to determine whether the complications of surgery were acceptable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Curettage for metastatic lesions of the sacrum was performed in 154 patients with obvious sacral nerve compression symptoms between July 1997 and July 2014. Potential risk factors were evaluated in univariate analysis for associations with local control; multivariate conditional logistic regression was used to identify the combined effects. Complications were recorded. The pre- and postoperative visual analogue scale of pain, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scores, and quality of life scores were collected to evaluate the impact of surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cumulative survival rates were 71.8%, 41.1%, and 22.5% and the local control rates were 95.4%, 90.9%, and 79.4% at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Tumors with rapid growth, the lack of preoperative radiotherapy, and application of aortic balloon occlusion were significantly associated with good local control. There were 29 (18.8%) complications related to surgery. The mean pain scores were 7.04 preoperatively, 1.66 at 1 month postoperatively (p = 0.003), and 1.51 at 3 months postoperatively (p = 0.002). The mean ECOG scores were 2.82 preoperatively and 1.47 3 months postoperatively (p < 0.001). There were significant improvements from preoperatively to 3 months postoperatively in global health status (43.3 vs. 52.1), pain (62.0 vs. 33.2), and constipation (51.4 vs. 30.3) (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Surgery for sacral metastasis is effective to palliate pain rapidly and improve constipation and quality of life and has a low rate of complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Tumor Centre, Peking University &People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhiye
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Tumor Centre, Peking University &People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2471-5767
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Tumor Centre, Peking University &People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rongli
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Tumor Centre, Peking University &People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Tumor Centre, Peking University &People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Tumor Centre, Peking University &People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Dasen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D003475:Curettage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012447:Sacrum / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome