Relative Radiosensitivity of Metastatic Spine Disease

Up to 10% of all cancer patients developed metastatic disease in the bone. The purpose of the present report is to describe the radiosensitivity of metastatic disease to the spine. Tumor histology is the primary method that physicians use to determine radiation sensitivity. The most radiosensitive histologies include seminoma, myeloma, and lymphoma, while radioresistant histologies include melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and sarcoma. The radiosensitivity of the cancer can guide management of patients with spinal metastatic disease, as conventionally fractionated radiation therapy may suffice for radiosensitive tumors. Higher, ablative doses can be delivered to radioresistant tumors using a specialized radiation technique called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to overcome radioresistance. SBRT is able to overcome radioresistance by delivering a higher biologically effective dose to tumors while sparing surrounding normal tissue.