Outcome of surgical decompression of spinal mass lesions in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and plasmacytoma.

Objective: Surgical treatment for spinal mass lesions due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) or plasmacytoma is necessary only in rare instances. The purpose of this study was to investigate long-term outcome and quality of life of surgery combined with postoperative chemotherapy or radiochemotherapy.

Methods: The data of patients, who underwent spinal surgery for mass lesions in a 10-year periods were reviewed, identifying 10 patients with a histopathological diagnosis of NHL or plasmacytoma. Functional outcome were assessed by the Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS), quality of life by the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey Questionnaire, and pain by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

Results: Clinical presentations included pain (n=10), paresis (n=5), and sensory deficits (n=5). Surgical treatment included removal of the mass lesion (total, n=5; subtotal, n=5) for decompression, interbody fusion (n=3), and corporectomy followed by stabilization (n=1). Histopathological findings revealed NHL in five patients and plasmacytoma/multiple myeloma in five other patients. Postoperatively, all patients underwent chemotherapy or radiochemotherapy. Mean follow-up time was 38 months. At the last follow-up, 2 patients had succumbed to progression of disease. Pain intensity remained significantly reduced as compared to preoperatively (p=0.049). The KPS was 90-100% in five patients still alive, 70% in two, and 60% in one. SF-36 subscores were lower as compared to age-matched healthy controls.

Conclusions: This retrospective study shows that surgical decompression of spinal mass lesions is a valuable option in selected patients with NHL or plasmacytoma to improve neurological deficits and control pain. Long-term outcome after postoperative adjuvant therapy confirms prolonged stability of quality of life.