PNET Spine: Morbid and Mortal, but Ignored Till Late

Abstract

Spinal primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) is rare. We present clinical, radiologic profile and treatment outcome of 15 spinal PNET patients from June 2003 to March 2010 treated with chemoradiotherapy. Median duration of backache was 6.5 months; all had features of myelopathy and/or radiculopathy; 5/15 (33.3%) patients were diagnosed initially as spinal tuberculosis. The event-free survival (EFS) was 24.73% at a median follow-up of 22 months. Complete functional recovery to treatment significantly predicted better EFS; 4 patients discontinued treatment because of poor functional recovery. It is important to recognize spinal PNET early to prevent permanent neurological damage, which in turn would improve compliance, quality of life, and perhaps EFS.