Direct Injection of Alcohol for the Treatment of Spinal Tumors

Study Summary

Tumors of the spine can be described as primary, meaning that the tumor originated from cells normally found in the spine, or metastatic, cells from another area of the body that have spread to the spine. Metastatic tumors are more common than primary tumors. Tumors of the spine can press against the spinal cord and interfere with information traveling down from the brain to the nerves of the spinal cord. As a result, patients with spinal tumors can suffer from loss of movement and sensation within areas of the body below the tumor. In addition, tumors of the spine are typically painful conditions. Presently, the treatment of choice for spinal tumors is radiation therapy. However, many tumors of the spine become resistant to radiation therapy. In addition, because the spinal cord is often so close to the tumor it can be damaged by the radiation. Absolute (100%) ethanol is commonly known as "alcohol". It is the same kind of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. When pure alcohol is injected directly into a tumor it can destroy cells and blood vessels. Because of this feature, researchers would like to test the effectiveness of alcohol in treating patients with spinal tumors. Researchers believe that intratumoral ethanol injection is a treatment worth studying more closely because it is minimally invasive, has been proven to be an effective treatment for other types of metastatic tumors, can be used repeatedly, and does not interfere with other treatments such as surgery. In addition to testing the effectiveness of intratumoral ethanol injection, this study will attempt to determine the causes of pain associated with spinal tumors.