Table 1.

Principal characteristics of the included studies

Author/year/ country	Design	No. of patients/ levels	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria	Estimated age of VF	Follow-up
Lieberman [25] 2003. USA	P	63/264	Painful progressive osteolytic VF secondary to multiple myeloma	Unstable (by virtue of myelomatous destruction of the posterior elements) or with retropulsed tissue or bone fragments.	11 mo (0.5-24 mo)	4 mo
Fourney [26] 2003. USA	R	BKP:15/32 VP: 34/65	VF with disabling pain refractory to prior medical and/or physical therapy in cancer patients	Epidural compression of the neural elements; failure to localize symptomatic levels; radicular pain; intolerance to being positioned prone or significant medical contraindications	3.2 mo (1 wk-26 mo)	4.5 mo
Lane [27] 2004. USA	P	19/46	Painful VF secondary to multiple myeloma	Not reported	>3 mo	3 mo
Vrionis [28] 2005. USA	R	50/128	VF with intractable mechanical pain refractory to medical and/or physical therapy in cancer patients.	Overt instability; clinical and/or radiological spinal cord compression; lesions above T3; absence of correlating symptoms (not mechanical pain and/or not localized to the area of VF).	13 cases:3 mo 35 cases: 10 mo	9 mo
Kose [30] 2006. Turkey	R	BKP: 18/22 VP: 16/26	Symptomatic VF in myeloma with pain refractory to medical therapy.	Canal stenosis	Not reported	12 mo
Pflugmacher[33] 2007. Germany	P	26/59	VF with severe refractory pain in patients with myeloma	Not reported	Not reported	24 mo
Pflugmacher[34] 2008. Germany	P	65/99	Metastatic VF with severe and refractory back pain.	Not reported	Not reported	24 mo

P: Prospective, R: Retrospective, BKP: Balloon Kyphoplasty, VP: Vertebroplasty, VF: Vertebral Fracture