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Epidemiology and surgical outcomes of pediatric intradural spinal tumors: results from a retrospective series of patients operated in the first two decades of life

Spinal Cord volume 63, pages 75–79 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Study design

Retrospective cohort study.

Objectives

Due to the rarity of intradural spinal tumors (ISTs) in individuals under 20, comprehensive studies are lacking. This study aims to compare the clinical data of intramedullary and extramedullary IST cases in patients under 20 years of age with those of adult cases and to identify functional predictors that affect surgical outcomes.

Setting

The single institution in Japan.

Methods

This retrospective study included 1367 patients diagnosed with extramedullary or intramedullary ISTs who underwent surgery at our institution from 2001 to 2021. Patients were divided into two groups: under 20 years old (Under-20) and 20 years and older. Collected data included demographics, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results, and surgical and clinical information. Neurological status was evaluated using the modified McCormick Scale (mMS).

Results

Among 1367 cases, 55 patients (4.0%) were under 20 years old. The most frequent tumors in the Under-20 group were astrocytoma (18.2%), followed by myxopapillary ependymoma (16.4%). Seven patients in the Under-20 group died during follow-up. Among the surviving patients, unstable gait post-surgery was associated with malignant tumors and worse preoperative mMS scores.

Conclusions

This study highlights significant differences in IST epidemiology and pathology between minors and adults, emphasizing the need for early MRI to prevent paralysis progression and improve outcomes. Understanding these differences is crucial for effective diagnosis and treatment during the first two decades of life.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Narihito Nagoshi, Toshiki Okubo, Masahiro Ozaki, Satoshi Suzuki, Kazuki Takeda, Takahito Iga, Morio Matsumoto, Masaya Nakamura & Kota Watanabe

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  1. Narihito Nagoshi
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  2. Toshiki Okubo
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  3. Masahiro Ozaki
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  4. Satoshi Suzuki
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  6. Takahito Iga
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  7. Morio Matsumoto
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  8. Masaya Nakamura
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  9. Kota Watanabe
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Contributions

NN designed the research, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper; TO and MN performed data collection; TO, MO, SS, KT, TI, MM, MN, and KW supervised the study; all authors reviewed and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Narihito Nagoshi.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study received ethical approval from the institutional review board of the Ethics Committee of the Keio University School of Medicine (20110142). We certify that all applicable institutional regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers were followed during the research.

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Nagoshi, N., Okubo, T., Ozaki, M. et al. Epidemiology and surgical outcomes of pediatric intradural spinal tumors: results from a retrospective series of patients operated in the first two decades of life. Spinal Cord 63, 75–79 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-024-01052-y

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