Neurosurgery clinics of North America
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Metastatic spine tumors affect a large number of patients each year, resulting in significant pain,destruction of the spinal column causing mechanical instability, and neurologic deficits. Standard therapeutic options include surgery and fractionated external beam radiotherapy. The first option can be associated with significant morbidity and limited local tumor control. ⋯ The major potential benefit of radiosurgical ablation of spinal lesions is a relatively short treatment time in an outpatient setting combined with potentially better local control of the tumor with minimal risk of side effects. CyberKnife spinal radiosurgery offers a new and important alternative therapeutic modality for the treatment of spinal metastases in medically inoperable patients, previously irradiated sites, and for lesions not amenable to open surgical techniques or as an adjunct to surgery. Spinal radiosurgery is likely to become an essential part of any neurosurgical spine center that treats a large number of patients with spinal metastases.