Surgical Planning in Cervical Spine Oncologic Patients

Primary bone tumors of the spine are very rare [1]; they comprise only 10 % or less of all bone tumors. In the United States, about 7,500 new cases are estimated per year. The overall world occurrence can be expected 2.5–8.5 cases per million inhabitants per year. Compared to primary spinal tumors, metastatic tumors are much more common in the spine: the spine is the most common skeletal region for secondary tumors. Basic knowledge about diagnosis and treatment strategy must be known for early recognition of a spine tumor. Further, diagnostic elements to differentiate primary from metastatic tumor are required.