Histopathological Spectrum of Spinal Tumours at a Tertiary Care Hospital, Gujarat, India: A Retrospective Study

Introduction: The anatomic structures in the spinal area are diverse and unpredictable, often representing an excellent test for both the neuroclinicians and neuropathologists, thereby showing a broad heterogeneous spectrum of pathological lesions. Clinical history, radiological features, and pathological examination are required to diagnose spinal tumours.

Aim: To study the histopathological spectrum of spinal tumours in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Gujarat, India.

Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, data was collected from the records of 100 patients who had spinal tumours and who attended the Department of Pathology. Histopathological diagnosis of the spinal biopsy specimen was the primary outcome variable. Age, gender, location of the tumour, and clinical features were other study relevant variables. The status of the spinal tumour (benign/malignant) was considered an explanatory variable. Descriptive analysis was carried out by mean and standard deviation for quantitative variables, frequency, and proportion for categorical variables. Categorical outcomes were compared using the Chi-square test.

Results: A total of 100 subjects were included, among which 42 participants were males, and 58 were females with the mean age 34.62±17.64 years. The maximum number of spinal tumours were noted in (21-30 year) 3rd decade (29%) of life. Benign spinal tumours (73%) were more common than malignant spinal tumours (27%). Schwannoma was the most common (37%) spinal tumour, followed by meningioma (20%), and ependymoma (14%). The distribution of spinal tumours based on anatomical location, 31% intradural intramedullary, 49% intradural extramedullary, and 20% extradural tumours. There was a significant difference between nerve sheath tumours and meningioma with gender (p-value <0.001).

Conclusion: The study identified schwannoma and meningiomas as the most common tumours. The thoracic region was the most frequently involved spinal level, followed by the cervical, and the most affected location was the intradural extramedullary.