Comparison of combined anterior-posterior and posterior-only approaches for lumbosacral chordomas: a systematic review and meta-analysis of surgical and clinical outcomes.

Lumbosacral chordoma is a slow-growing but locally aggressive tumor, resistant to adjuvant treatments and endowed with dismal prognosis. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment but the choice of surgical approach (the posterior-only approach or the combined anterior-posterior approach) remains an open question due to the need of both pursuing a surgical radicality and preserving the neurologic function. The aim of the study was to compare the surgical and clinical outcomes of these approaches in the management of lumbosacral chordomas. A systematic review and meta-analysis in agreement with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines of papers comparing the outcomes of the two approaches was performed. Ten papers met the inclusion criteria. The combined anterior-posterior approach was more frequently performed for tumors with an upper level beyond S2 (p = 0.012). The 5-year progression-free survival was significantly higher in posterior-only approach compared with the combined anterior-posterior approach (44.7% vs 27.1%, p = 0.049). Adjuvant radiotherapy was added more frequently after a posterior-only approach (p = 0.036) and the rate of complications was significantly lower after a posterior-only approach (p = 0.040). No significant differences in sex, age, tumor diameter, entity of resection, and overall survival were observed. Posterior-only surgical approach may be a reasonable option for lumbosacral chordoma, being associated with comparable entity of surgical resection, reduced complication rate and increased 5-year progression-free survival rate as compared with combined anterior-posterior approach.