Publication
Timing of Adjuvant Radiation Therapy and Risk of Wound-Related Complications Among Patients With Spinal Metastatic Disease
Journal Paper/Review - Nov 22, 2019
Azad Tej D, Ratliff John K, Veeravagu Anand, Bagshaw Hilary P, Zygourakis Corinna, Stienen Martin N., Ho Allen L, Pendharkar Arjun V, Herrick Daniel B, Varshneya Kunal, Desai Atman
Units
PubMed
Doi
Citation
Type
Journal
Publication Date
Issn Print
Pages
Brief description/objective
STUDY DESIGN
This was an epidemiological study using national administrative data from the MarketScan database.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the impact of early versus delayed adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) on wound healing following surgical resection for spinal metastatic disease.
METHODS
We queried the MarketScan database (2007-2016), identifying patients with a diagnosis of spinal metastasis who also underwent RT within 8 weeks of surgery. Patients were categorized into "Early RT" if they received RT within 4 weeks of surgery and as "Late RT" if they received RT between 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing were used to compare baseline characteristics and wound complication outcomes.
RESULTS
A total of 540 patients met the inclusion criteria: 307 (56.9%) received RT within 4 weeks (Early RT) and 233 (43.1%) received RT within 4 to 8 weeks (Late RT) of surgery. Mean days to RT for the Early RT cohort was 18.5 (SD, 6.9) and 39.7 (SD, 7.6) for the Late RT cohort. In a 90-day surveillance period, n = 9 (2.9%) of Early RT and n = 8 (3.4%) of Late RT patients developed wound complications ( = .574).
CONCLUSIONS
When comparing patients who received RT early versus delayed following surgery, there were no significant differences in the rates of wound complications. Further prospective studies should aim to identify optimal patient criteria for early postoperative RT for spinal metastases.