Table 1.

Surgical strategy for spinal metastases

Point	Scoring system			Prognostic score	Treatment goal	Surgical strategy
	Prognostic factors
	Primary tumor	Visceral metastases	Bone metastases1
1	Slow growth (breast, thyroid, etc.)		Solitary or isolated	2	Long-term local control	Wide or marginal excision
				3
2	Moderate growth (kidney, uterus, etc.)	Treatable	Multiple	4	Middle-term local control	Marginal or intralesonal excision
				5
4	Rapid growth (lung, stomach, etc.)	Untreatable		6	Short-term palliation	Palliative surgery
				7
				8	Terminal care	Supportive care
				9
				10

No visceral metastases = 0 points;

¹Bone metastases: Including spinal metastases.