Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression (MSCC) —The Evolving Story from Kashmir*

Aim: To know the demographics of the patients most commonly involved by metastatic cord compression in Kashmir and to find the commonest primary organ to metastasize to spine causing cord compression. Methods: A hospital-based 10-year retro-prospective study was carried out in the Department of Neurosurgery of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura from July 2002 to June 2012, which is the premier tertiary care institute of the Kashmir valley. Patients were evaluated for metastatic spinal cord compression based on a standard proforma and specialized investigations were carried out and were deemed necessary by the concerned neurosurgical unit. Results: The commonest primary malignancy to metastasize to the spinal column in our study was Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, followed in turn by metastatic squamous cell carcinoma lung, metastatic intraductal carcinoma breast and metastatic adenocarcinoma prostate. Predominantly dorsal spine was the commonest region of spine involved by MSCC. Conclusion: Metastatic spinal cord compression is coming up in a big way. As the long-term cancer survivors increase due to multi-modality treatment protocols aimed at treating cancers and prolonging survival, there will be a proportionate increase in the number of patients who will potentially land up in metastatic spinal cord compression.