Epidemiological features of spinal intradural tumors, a single-center clinical study in Beijing, China.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Spinal intradural tumors are rare and heterogeneous in histological type, aggressiveness, and symptomatology, and there is a lack of data about them. This study investigated the epidemiological features of spinal intradural tumors. METHODS: This retrospective analysis included patients with spinal intradural tumors who underwent surgical treatment at the Myelopathy and Spondylosis Ward Beijing Jishuitan Hospital between January 2012 and December 2022. RESULTS: This study included 1321 patients [aged 47.19 ± 14.90 years, 603 (45.65%) males] with spinal intradural tumors. The most common histological subtype was schwannoma [n = 511 (38.68%)], followed by spinal meningioma [n = 184 (13.93%)] and ependymoma [n = 101 (7.65%)]. Fifteen (1.14%) patients were diagnosed with metastatic spinal intradural tumors as a presentation of another primary cancer type. The spinal intradural tumors were mostly found in the lumbar region [n = 436 (33.01%)], followed by the thoracic vertebrae [n = 390 (29.52%)], cervical vertebrae [n = 154 (11.66%)], and thoracolumbar region [n = 111 (8.40%)]. Schwannomas mostly affected the lumbar region [n = 256 (52.64%)], spinal meningiomas in the thoracic region [n = 153 (83.15)], and ependymomas in the lumbar region [56 (55.45%)]. The de novo metastases were mostly found in the lumbar region [n = 8 (53.33%)]. CONCLUSION: According to the results of our single-center study, the most common spinal intradural tumor in Northern China is schwannoma, followed by spinal meningioma and ependymoma.