P98 A decade of primary tumours of the spine in the paediatric population

ObjectivesPrimary spinal tumours in children are rare and poorly understood; we review 10 years of surgical experience.DesignRetrospective review of prospectively maintained database.SubjectsChildren receiving surgical management of primary spinal tumours in a single, tertiary paediatric neurosurgery centre.MethodsOperations for primary spinal tumours were abstracted from our prospectively maintained surgical database and supplemented with data from case notes, operative records, and imaging studies.ResultsBetween 2008 and 2017, 37 procedures were performed on 29 patients (19 male; Median age 7.5 years, IQR 2–11.25). 28 had their primary procedure in our unit: 21 excisions, and 7 biopsies (of which 5 proceeded to further surgery). Tumours were classified as extradural (10), intradural extramedullary (3), intradural intramedullary (11) or bony (4). Tumours were found at the following levels: Cervical (8; 29%), Cervicothoracic (2; 7.1%), Thoracic (10; 36%), Thoracolumbar (3; 11%), Lumbar (2; 7.1%), Lumbosacral (2; 7.1%) and Sacral (1; 3.6%). Histology comprised: Pilocytic Astrocytoma (6), Other Astrocytoma (4), Schwannoma (3), Ewing Sarcoma (2), Langerhans cell histiocytosis (2), Lymphoma (2), Neurofibroma (2), and others (7) including one Myxopapillary Ependymoma.ConclusionsThe rarity and heterogeneity of paediatric spinal tumours makes treatment challenging. We propose a national online registry including a tissue bank, and invite collaboration with other units.