Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40835773›Full record

SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2026

Immune checkpoint inhibitors and other immunotherapies in the treatment of spinal column tumors: A systematic review and Meta-analysis of efficacy, and safety.

Brandon Kaye, Laura Kehoe, Nikhil Dholaria, Mohammadmahdi Sabahi, Alireza Soltani Khaboushan, Diego T Soto Rubio, Fayyadh Yusuf, Hoon Choi, César Carballo Cuello, Puya Alikhani

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Brandon KayeDr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Laura KehoeDepartment of Neurosurgery, Children's Health Ireland, Temple Street Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Nikhil DholariaThe University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, Phoenix, USA.
Mohammadmahdi SabahiDepartment of Neurological Surgery, Pauline Braathen Neurological Center, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, USA.
Alireza Soltani KhaboushanDepartment of Neurosurgery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Diego T Soto RubioDepartment of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, USA.
Fayyadh YusufDepartment of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, USA.
Hoon ChoiDepartment of Neurological Surgery, Pauline Braathen Neurological Center, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, USA.
César Carballo CuelloDepartment of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, USA.
Puya AlikhaniDepartment of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, USA. palikhan@usf.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeSpinal metastases affect up to 70% of systemic cancer patients, with overall survival averaging less than six months. Traditional chemotherapeutic agents have unsatisfactory results, leading to immunotherapy (IT) investigations. There is no clear consensus on the benefits and risks of IT for spinal tumors. This study assesses the current literature to determine IT safety and survival efficacy for tumors involving spinal column.

methodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed through September 15

resultsA total of 416 articles were screened, with 17 included for qualitative analysis. The studies included 727 patients, with excluding cases of unknown primary origin, the most common primary tumor types were lung cancer, followed by renal cell carcinoma, and melanoma. The most common IT treatments in studies that reported specific types were anti-PD-L1, followed by anti-PD-1 treatments. Meta-analysis showed tumor control rates of 80% (95% CI: 71-87%) following adjunctive IT and the pooled toxicity rate was 5% (95% CI: 1-26%), both with low heterogeneity (I² = 0%). With a maximum follow-up period of 97 months on patients with available data, there were 65 recorded deaths (65.7%) which were all in patients with metastatic spine tumors and no death were recorded in primary spine tumors and the log-rank test indicated a significantly higher overall survival (OS) rate for adjunctive IT in patients with primary spine tumors compared to those with metastatic spine tumors (P< 0.0001). The OS rates were 75%, 57%, 38%, 26%, and 16% at 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, and 60 months post-IT, respectively.

conclusionWhen used as an adjuvant treatment, IT is associated with a high rate of tumor control and a low rate of toxicity in patients with spinal metastases. Additionally, there is a significant improvement in OS for patients with primary spine tumors compared to those with metastatic spine tumors as an adjuvant treatment. Future studies are warranted to further elucidate the benefits and risks of IT in this patient population as a primary treatment modality.

Indexed as

Immune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunotherapySpinal NeoplasmsHumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmune checkpoint inhibitorImmunotherapyMeta-AnalysisSpinal column tumorsSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID40835773

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.