The Effect of Introducing the Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score in Routine Clinical Practice for Patients With Spinal Metastases

Abstract

Abstract Background. Stable spinal metastases are effectively treated with radiotherapy, whereas unstable spinal metastases often need surgical fixation followed by radiotherapy for local control. The Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) was developed as a tool to assess spinal neoplastic related instability with the goal of helping to guide referrals among oncology specialists. We compare the average degree of spinal instability between patients with spinal metastases referred for surgery or for radiotherapy and evaluate whether this difference changed after introduction of the SINS in clinical practice. Methods. All patients with spinal metastases treated with palliative surgery or radiotherapy in the period 2009–2013 were identified in two spine centers. For all patients, the SINS was scored on pretreatment imaging. The SINS before and after introduction of the SINS in 2011 were compared within the surgical and radiotherapy group. Furthermore, the overall SINS was compared between the two groups. Results. The overall SINS was significantly higher in the surgical group, with a mean SINS of 10.7 (median 11) versus 7.2 (median 8) for the radiotherapy group. The mean SINS decreased significantly for both groups after introduction of the SINS in clinical practice from 11.2 to 10.3 in the surgical group and from 8.4 to 7.2 in the radiotherapy group. Conclusion. The SINS differed significantly between patients treated with surgery or radiotherapy. The introduction of SINS led to a decrease in SINS score for both groups, suggesting that using SINS in metastatic spinal disease increases awareness for instability and may subsequently result in earlier referrals for surgical intervention.