Comprehensive Management of Spine Metastasis in Cancer Patients: From Identification to Rehabilitation

Spine metastasis are common in cancer survivors, can cause pain and paralysis, and have a significant impact on function and quality of life. This review discusses the most recent literature on strategies for the identification, evaluation, and management of patients with spine metastasis.

Increasing evidence suggests that rehabilitation is safe and effective for patients with spine metastasis. However, despite its potential advantages, rehabilitation is often underused in clinical settings. Many healthcare practitioners lack awareness of functional problems and have a limited understanding of existing rehabilitation services. Furthermore, many medical professionals, including physiatrists, have doubts and concerns about skeletal complications and frequently consider rehabilitation inadvisable for this group of patients.

Comprehensive management of spine metastasis requires a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates accurate prognosis estimation, instability evaluation, functional assessment, and consideration of patient-reported outcomes. Choosing appropriate tools and scoring systems is crucial for enhancing patient care and improving quality of life. Additionally, involving physiatrists in cancer treatment and raising awareness about cancer rehabilitation are important. Further research is needed to develop evidence-based guidelines and patient referral systems as well as to create specialized programs.