Impact of Microsurgery and Postoperative Radiotherapy on Neurological Function in Intramedullary Spinal Cord Gliomas.

[OBJECTIVE] To assess the clinical efficacy of combined microsurgery and postoperative radiotherapy for the treatment of intramedullary spinal gliomas and its impact on neurological function.

[STUDY DESIGN] An observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Neurosurgery, Baoding No.1 Central Hospital, Hebei, China, between January 2020 and 2023.

[METHODOLOGY] Sixty patients diagnosed with spinal cord intramedullary gliomas were divided equally into an experimental and control group. The control group received microsurgical treatment, and the experimental group received microsurgical treatment combined with postoperative radiotherapy. The treatment effectiveness, neurological function, and follow-up results of the two groups were compared.

[RESULTS] After treatment, the clinical efficacy of the experimental group treatment was significantly better than that of the control group (p <0.05). The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores were significantly lower, and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) scores were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (p <0.05). The 1-3-year survival rate and median survival time of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p <0.05). The incidence of complications was 3.33% in the experimental group and 6.67% in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (p >0.05). The postoperative recurrence rate was significantly lower in the experimental (0%) than in the control group (13.33%, p <0.05).

[CONCLUSION] Combined microsurgery and postoperative radiotherapy was found to be more effective than microsurgery alone. It was also more conducive to the recovery of neurological function and improved the patient's quality of life.

[KEY WORDS] Intramedullary spinal cord glioma, Microsurgery, Neurological function, Radiotherapy.