Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine researchers simplified spine oncology treatment for all providers involved in the process. The Lancet Oncology published the study.
Here are five insights:
1. Nicholas Szerlip, MD, served as senior author and Daniel Spratt, MD, was first author of the study. The two physicians analyzed 243 studies on spine oncology treatment and spoke to experts around the world.
2. Patients with spine metastases often don't receive integrated care, but rather visit many subspecialty physicians. These patients undergo anything from pain management to aggressive treatment, depending on the physician.
3. The algorithm, coming out of the researchers' new International Spine Oncology Consortium, provides a step-by-step guide for providers managing spine oncology patients.
4. The algorithm touches on more than just tumor management. First, providers assess a patient's life expectancy, consider systemic burden of disease and calculate how controlled the disease is. The next step involves consideration of systemic treatment options.
5. Additionally, the algorithm brings all specialties together, including physical medicine and rehabilitation, radiology and medical oncology.
"Spine oncology is such a multidisciplinary pathology," Dr. Szerlip said in a press release. "We wanted to form a transparent understanding so everyone, from the oncologists and primary care providers to fellow neurosurgeons who aren't specifically trained on this, could lean on one algorithm in language we can all understand."