Surgical Management of Sacral Tumors: 10 Years of Experience at the National Cancer Institute, Egypt

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Surgical Management of Sacral Tumors: 10 Years of Experience at the National Cancer Institute, Egypt

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Study Design: A retrospective study.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the pathological diagnoses, surgical techniques, and post-treatment sequelae in patients who underwent sacral resection.
Summary of Literature Review: Sacral tumors are rare and occur across all age groups, including both pediatric and adult populations.
Existing data from Egypt regarding age distribution, sex-associated patterns, pathological diagnoses, and surgical approaches remain limited.
Materials and Methods: This study included patients with sacral tumors who underwent surgical resection at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Egypt, in the surgical oncology department over a 10-year period from January 2013 to December 2022. Patients’ clinical data and pathological findings were reviewed, and operative details—including type of surgery, surgical approach, and postoperative complications—were analyzed. Disease-free survival was also evaluated.
Results: A total of 21 patients were included, comprising 16 males and 5 females, with a mean age of 47.5 years. The most common presenting symptom was low back pain (47.6%). Surgical resection was performed via a posterior approach in 12 patients and a combined anterior–posterior approach in 9 patients. Chordoma was the most frequent primary sacral tumor (66.7%). The most common postoperative complications were incontinence (8 cases) and wound infection (8 cases), each occurring in 38% of patients. For chordoma cases, the median follow-up time was 60 months, and disease-free survival at 3 and 5 years was 59.5% and 44.6%, respectively.
Conclusions: Early diagnosis of sacral tumors is essential because surgical excision with grossly negative margins remains the primary treatment. This is particularly important for chordoma, which was the most common primary malignant sacral tumor in our series.