Table 1. Study characteristics of peer-reviewed published manuscripts utilizing tantalum in spine surgery.
| Fusion site | Article | Study design | Number of patients | Age & sex of patients | Procedure & implant used | Final follow-up (years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cervical spine studies | Fernández-Fairen et al. (2019) | Retrospective cohort | 57 | Tantalum (n=27): mean 47 [27–62] years; 10 M, 17 F | 1-level ACDF with tantalum cages vs. autologous bone graft & plating | 11 |
| Autograft (n=30): mean 49 [22–65] years; 11 M, 19 F | ||||||
| Mastronardi et al. (2018) | Retrospective cohort | 88 | Tantalum (n=88): mean 59 [44–83] years; 37 M, 51 F | 1–2-level ACDF with tantalum cage | 1 | |
| Tomé-Bermejo et al. (2017) | Prospective cohort | 33 | Tantalum (n=33): mean 53 [39–75] years; 13 M, 20 F | 1–2-level ACDF with tantalum cages | 4.9 (2.1–8) | |
| King et al. (2016) | Prospective cohort | 10 | Tantalum (n=10): mean 57±13.1 years; 6 M, 4 F | 1-level ACCF with tantalum cages | 2 | |
| Papacci et al. (2016) | Retrospective cohort | 99 | Tantalum (n=99): mean 49±11.9 years; 47 M, 52 F | 1–2-level ACDF with tantalum cages | 5.6 (2.6–8.1) | |
| Kasliwal et al. (2013) | Randomized controlled trial | 39 | Tantalum ring (n=13): mean 45 [32–70] years; 7 M, 6 F | 1-level ACDF with tantalum ring packed with autograft vs. tantalum cage vs. iliac crest autograft | 2 | |
| Tantalum block (n=15): mean 46 [25–60] years; 7 M, 8 F | ||||||
| Autograft (n=11): mean 45 [37–62] years; 4 M, 7 F | ||||||
| Löfgren et al. (2010) | Randomized controlled trial | 80 | Tantalum (n=40): median 48 [38–59] years; 24 M, 16 F | 1-level ACDF with tantalum cages vs. iliac crest autograft | 2 | |
| Autograft (n=40): median 49 [27–70] years; 26 M, 14 F | ||||||
| Fernández-Fairen et al. (2008) | Randomized controlled trial | 61 | Tantalum (n=28): mean 48 [27–62] years; 10 M, 18 F | 1-level ACDF with tantalum cages vs. iliac crest autograft & plating | 2 | |
| Autograft (n=33): mean 49 [22–65] years; 12 M, 21 F | ||||||
| Wigfield et al. (2003) | Randomized controlled trial | 24 | Tantalum ring (n=11): mean 47 [32–73] years; 7 M, 4 F | 1-level ACDF with tantalum ring packed with autograft vs. tantalum cages vs. iliac crest autograft | 2 | |
| Tantalum block (n=6): mean 58 [44–73] years; 4 M, 2 F | ||||||
| Autograft (n=7): mean 63 [37–85] years; 6 M, 1 F | ||||||
| Lumbar spine studies | Cuzzocrea et al. (2018) | Retrospective cohort | 40 | Polyetheretherketone (n=20): mean 48 [39–57] years; 9 M, 11 F | 1–2-level TLIF with polyetheretherketone cage vs. metal (titanium or tantalum) cage | 1 |
| Metal (n=20): mean 55 [43–64] years; 8 M, 12 F | ||||||
| Van de Kelft et al. (2015) | Randomized controlled trial | 79 | Tantalum (n=40): mean 47±9.9 years; 26 M, 14 F | 1-level PLIF with tantalum cages vs. tantalum cages & PF | 6 | |
| Tantalum & PF (n=39): mean 50±14.4 years; 24 M, 15 F | ||||||
| Jalalpour et al. (2015) | Randomized controlled trial | 135 | TLIF (n=68): mean 44 [25–62] years; 36 M, 32 F | 1–2-level TLIF with titanium PF & tantalum interbody spacer with interbody & posterolateral autograft vs. PLF with autograft | 2 | |
| PLF (n=67): mean 45 [27–65] years; 38 M, 29 F | ||||||
| Lequin et al. (2014) | Retrospective cohort | 26 | Tantalum (n=26): mean 46±11.4 years; 16 M, 10 F | 1-level PLIF with tantalum cages | 1 |
ACDF, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion; ACF, anterior cervical fusion; ACCF, anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion; TLIF, transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion; PLIF, posterior lumbar interbody fusion; PF, pedicle screw fixation; PLF, uninstrumented posterolateral fusion.