Objective To investigate the diagnosis and effectiveness of improved percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for patients with thoracolumbar metastatic tumors, who could not tolerate anesthesia and open operation. Methods Between September 2009 and September 2010, 16 patients with thoracolumbar metastatic tumors underwent improved PKP. Of 16 patients, 7 were male and 9 were female with an average age of 64.5 years (range, 60-73 years). All patients had vertebralmetastasis tumor. The disease duration was 3-6 months with an average of 4 months. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 8.9 ± 0.8. No spinal cord compression and nerve root compression was observed. The involved vertebrae included T7 in 1 case, T8 in 1, T12 in 1, L2 in 2, L3 in 2, L4 in 3, T1, 2 in 1, T3, 4 in 1, T7, 8 in 1, T11, 12 in 1, T7-L1 in 1, and T12-L4 in 1. Nine patients had vertebral compression fracture with a vertebral compression rate below 75%. Results All patients were successfully performed PKP. There was no serious adverse reactions in cardiopulmonary and brain vascular systems and no perioperative death. The biopsy results showed that all were metastatic adenocarcinoma. All patients were followed up 9-18 months mean, 14 months). Complete pain rel ief was achieved in 14 cases and partial rel ief in 2 cases 6 months after operation according to World Health Organization criterion, with a pain-rel ief rate of 87.5%. The VAS score was 1.8 ± 0.6 at 6 months postoperatively, showing significant difference when compared with the preoperative score (P lt; 0.05). Two patients had cement leakages in 3 vertebrae with no symptoms at 6 months postoperatively. During follow-up, 12 patients died and the others survived with tumor. Conclusion For patients with thoracolumbar metastatic tumors who can not tolerate anesthesia and open operation, improved PKP has the advantages such as minimal invasion, high diagnostic rate, and early improvement of pain in the biopsy and treatment. It can improve patient’s qual ity of l ife in the combination of radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
Objective To discuss influence of spinal surgery on quality of life (QOL) of patients with late-period spinal metastatic tumor and to explore if spinal surgery could influence on survival time of patients or not. Methods From July 2007 to March 2009, we identified patients who were eligible for the observational study hospitalized in Changzheng Hospital, the Second Military Medical University in Shanghai, China. All eligible patients were divided into two groups depending on whether they would receive spinal surgery or not. Then, all eligible patients completed five QOL assessments using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) Questionnaire when they were diagnosed as late-period spinal metastatic tumor, after 1-month treatment, after 3-month treatment, after 6-month treatment, and after 9-month treatment. Survival time of each patient was also recorded. Results We identified 312 patients who were eligible for the study (surgery group, 147 cases; and non-surgery group, 165 cases). There was no significant difference in survival time between the two groups (χ2=3.167, P=0.075). Within 9 months, the surgery group had significantly higher physical well-being scores, emotional well-being scores, functional well-being scores and total QOL scores than the non-surgery group. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that spinal surgery can significantly improve the QOL of patients with late-period spinal metastatic tumor, but cannot prolong the survival time.
Tumor chemotherapy is a treatment method that employs chemotherapeutic drugs to eradicate cancer cells. These drugs are cytotoxic, meaning they can affect both tumor cells and normal cells. In recent years, there has been a gradual increase in chemotherapy-induced liver injury. Chemotherapy-induced parenchymal liver injury often manifests as diffuse lesions, although focal lesions can occasionally be observed. There is a diversity in the pathogenesis and pathological changes of chemotherapy-induced focal liver disease. Radiologically, there is often challenging in differentiating chemotherapy-induced focal liver disease from hepatic metastases. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis of this condition poses a certain challenge in clinical practice. This article presents the radiological findings of a case of chemotherapy-induced focal liver disease induced by chemotherapy for gastric cancer, and summarizes the radiological features and differential diagnostic points of chemotherapy-induced focal liver disease, aiming to enhance the understanding of this type of lesion among radiologists and clinicians and reduce related missed diagnoses and misdiagnoses.