Resumen de A new and simple scoring system to predict overall survival after irradiation for metastatic spinal cord compression

P. Nenclares, S. Guardado, L. Asiáin, María Angeles Pérez Escutia, C. Peña Sánchez, A. Bartolomé Villar, Ana Ruiz Alonso, M.A. Cabeza Rodríguez, M. Colmenero, N. Gascón, V. Rodríguez, R. Prados, R. D´Ambrosi, José Fermín Pérez-Regadera Gómez

• Purpose To develop a model that predicts survival in patients irradiated for metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC), hence assisting in the decision between a short and a long-course radiotherapy (RT) regimen.

  Methods 138 patients diagnosed with MSCC and treated with RT alone were included. Based on a multivariate analysis, a scoring system was developed. It included four prognostic variables: age, number of vertebrae, ECOG and histology. Total scores ranged between 14 and 24 points and patients were divided into two groups.

  Results The 6-month survival rate was 22% for patients with a score of 14–18 points; and 69% for patients with a score of 19–24 points (P < 0.001). The system exhibits a high specificity and positive predictive value and an appropriate discriminative ability.

  Conclusions Patients with scores between 19 and 24 points were found to survive longer, thus a long-course RT appears to be more appropriate.