Evaluation of Spinal Metastatic Tumour for Aggressive Spinal Sugery by Dual Energy CT

Metastatic vertebral disease is a major hazard for oncological patients because the performance and life quality will substantially deteriorate if presence of neoplastic compression. And the subsequent treatment and overall survival will be dismal. Restoration of vertebral stability and prevention of neurological deterioration are treatment goal. Surgical treatment is an important and effective method for metastatic spinal disease. For aggressive surgical method, long-term control is better. However, massive bleeding is often encountered in this surgery, and preoperative evaluation is very important for successful operation. Imaging play major role in this tasks. MRI, angiography, and nuclear medicine studies are common modalities, but take longer time and are often suboptimal. Dual-energy CT has the ability to detect contrast medium enhancement in osseous structure. It therefore is a potential optimal tool in the evaluate the metastatic spinal malignancy. It also own advantage of rapid scanning, optimal resolution, and easy reformatting.In this study, we intend to use this tool to establish the imaging biomarker for tumoural vascularity, to compare its performance with other modalities, and to investigate its optimal imaging condition, which will bring valuable information for treatment planning for aggressive spinal surgery before metastatic disease.