Novalis radiosurgery for metastatic spine tumors.

It is logical to anticipate that the field of spinal radiosurgery will evolve in a fashion similar to that seen for intracranial radiosurgery. Given the frequency of various pathologic entities that affect the spine, including those that have proven to be largely intractable to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy (eg, sarcomas), and the serious clinical, economic and quality-of-life consequences of paraplegia, radiosurgery offers new hope as an adjuvant or primary therapy. The meticulous application of well-designed investigations of relevant clinical outcomes will be critical to the appropriate and effective use of this technology.