Combined Therapy Treats Spinal Tumors

A new system for the treatment of spinal tumors allows for the concurrent treatment and stabilization of the spine.

Developed by researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU; Mainz, Germany), the new treatment is a combination of radiofrequency (RF) ablation, which uses the heat energy of RF waves to ablate and destroy tumors, and a subsequent kyphoplasty, by which the spine is stabilized through the injection of bone cement as filler material. A single-center study involving 10 evaluable patients suffering from painful metastatic spinal tumors is expected to provide information about the efficacy of this method.


The treatment is based on the Spinal Tumor Ablation with Radiofrequency (STAR) system, developed at DFine (San Jose, CA, USA), which permits minimally invasive targeted tumor necrosis of metastatic spinal tumors. The system offers unparalleled control, and enables the physician to overcome many of the technical challenges that have limited targeted ablation in boney tissues to date. Following ablation with the STAR system, vertebrae are stabilized with ultra-high viscosity bone cement; the minimally invasive procedure generally takes about an hour.

“Due to the critical anatomy in the spine and the invasive nature of conventional surgical procedures to treat spinal metastases, we believe DFine's minimally invasive therapy that allows targeted delivery of radiofrequency energy for ablation of tumors may provide the fastest and most effective relief from the painful effects of spinal metastases, and thereby represents a significant advance in the patient's treatment,” said Prof. Andreas Kurth, MD, director of the Orthopedic Clinic at the JGU Medical Center.

“We are confident that this advanced method employed for tumor reduction and simultaneous stabilization of the spine through bone-sparing kyphoplasty will minimize the cancer patient's severe discomfort while stabilizing the vertebra,” concluded Dr. Kurth.

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