Stereotactic body radiotherapy for solitary spine metastasis
A 52-year-old man was diagnosed with rectal cancer, stage III (pT3N1M0) in 1999 and was treated with low anterior resection followed by chemoradiation therapy and then an oral chemotherapeutic agent. After 6 years, lung metastasis had developed in the left lower lobe and was treated with wedge resection followed by chemotherapy. After a further 2 years, a follow-up PET-CT showed a focal hypermetabolic lesion in the C3 vertebral body (), a finding compatible with metastasis, although this was asymptomatic. He was referred to our hospital for radiosurgery to the C3 spine as primary treatment.\nAfter radiosurgery of 24 Gy over 3 fractions, no further chemotherapy was given, and no further tumor recurrence has been noted for 66 months.