Epidemiological characteristics of primary spinal tumors in China: a Meta-analysis

English Keywords:Primary tumor  Spine  Epidemiology  Meta-analysis

English Abstract:

  【Abstract】 Objectives: To systematically evaluate the epidemiological and demographic characteristics of primary spinal tumors in China. Methods: Pubmed, Medline, Ovid, ScienceDirect, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, CBM and Wan Fang databases were searched to retrieve studies published from January 1980 to June 2017, reporting the epidemiological characteristics of primary spinal tumors in China. Data were extracted from the literatures, including the proportion of tumors, the ratio of male to female, age distribution and anatomical location distribution. The quality of literature was evaluated according to JBI-criteria. A Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software. Results: 23 articles consistent with the criteria were included in the study. The quality score of the articles were all above 7 points. Meta-analysis of 3462 patients with primary spinal tumors revealed: (1)in primary spinal tumors, benign tumors accounted for 61%(95%CI: 56%-66%), while malignant tumors for 39%(95%CI: 34%-44%); (2)in benign or malignant tumors, the proportion of males was higher than that of females, but for giant cell tumor, females accounting for about 52%(95%CI: 47%-58%) while males for 48%(95%CI: 42%-53%); (3)patients between 21 and 40 years old accounted for 40% of all benign tumors(95%CI: 35%-45%), patients between 41 and 60 years old accounted for 44% of all malignant tumors(95%CI: 40%-48%), more than 70% of patients with primary spinal tumors were between 21 to 60 years old; (4)the tumors in the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions accounted for 25%, 26%, 22% and 27% respectively, benign tumors were common in cervical vertebra while malignant tumors in sacrum. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that the outcomes of meta-analysis were credible. The funnel plot was basically symmetrical except for the distribution of anatomical parts, and there was no significant publication bias. Conclusions: In Chinese, the proportion of benign tumors is higher than that of malignant, and the proportion of male is higher than that of female. Benign tumors often occur at the age of 21-40 and malignant tumors occur at the age of 41-60. The distribution of the primary spinal tumors in the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral vertebra is roughly equal. Benign tumors often occur in cervical vertebra while malignant tumors in sacrum.