A Molecular Array for 10-second Diagnosis of Common Spinal Tumour Types with Picosecond Infrared Laser Mass Spectrometry.

Background: Improving the surgical outcomes for commonly occurring spinal neoplasms of extradural and intradural extramedullary origins requires precise intraoperative diagnosis provided by highly trained neuropathologists.

Methods: Through a retrospective study of n=319 patient specimens, verified where appropriate by learning curve analysis to be sufficient for statistically significant observations, we aimed to assess the utility of 10-second picosecond infrared laser mass spectrometry (PIRL-MS) for non-subjective diagnosis of major spinal tumour types of metastatic carcinoma, schwannoma and meningiomas.

Results: The sensitivity and specificity values of spinal tumour type diagnosis (based on n=182 independent specimens) were (93±1)% and (97±2)%, respectively.