{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T16:24:15Z","timestamp":1784823855222,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,18]],"date-time":"2023-03-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1679097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vertebral body metastases (VBM) are one of the most frequent sites of bone metastasis, and their adequate therapeutic management still represents an insidious challenge for both oncologists and surgeons. A possible alternative treatment for VBM is radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a percutaneous technique in which an alternating current is delivered to the tumor lesion producing local heating and consequent necrosis. However, RFA alone could alter the biomechanics and microanatomy of the vertebral body, thus increasing the risk of post-procedure vertebral fractures and spine instability, and indeed the aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of RFA on spine stability. A systematic review according to PRISMA-P guidelines was performed, and 17 papers were selected for the systematic review. The results show how RFA is an effective, safe, and feasible alternative to conventional radiotherapy for the treatment of VBM without indication for surgery, but spine stability is a major issue in this context. Although exerting undeniable benefits on pain control and local tumor recurrence, RFA alone increases the risk of spine instability and consequent vertebral body fractures and collapses. Concomitant safe and feasible therapeutic strategies such as percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty have shown synergic positive effects on back pain and improvement in spine stability.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics13061164","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,20]],"date-time":"2023-03-20T02:38:27Z","timestamp":1679279907000},"page":"1164","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Radiofrequency Ablation in Vertebral Body Metastasis with and without Percutaneous Cement Augmentation: A Systematic Review Addressing the Need for SPINE Stability Evaluation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Stefano","family":"Colonna","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, AOU Citt\u00e0 della Salute e della Scienza, University of Turin, Corso Bramante 88\/90, 10126 Turin, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1014-0731","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Bianconi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, AOU Citt\u00e0 della Salute e della Scienza, University of Turin, Corso Bramante 88\/90, 10126 Turin, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabio","family":"Cofano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, AOU Citt\u00e0 della Salute e della Scienza, University of Turin, Corso Bramante 88\/90, 10126 Turin, Italy"},{"name":"Unit\u00e0 di Chirurgia Vertebrale, Humanitas Gradenigo Hospital, 10100 Turin, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2995-8709","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Prior","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscienze, Riabilitazione, Oftalmologia, Genetica e Scienze Materno-Infantili, IRCCS Policlinico San Martino, University of Geneva, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7381-9194","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Di Perna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit\u00e0 di Chirurgia Vertebrale, Casa di Cura Citt\u00e0 di Bra, 12042 Cuneo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Palmieri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, AOU Citt\u00e0 della Salute e della Scienza, University of Turin, Corso Bramante 88\/90, 10126 Turin, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gianluigi","family":"Zona","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscienze, Riabilitazione, Oftalmologia, Genetica e Scienze Materno-Infantili, IRCCS Policlinico San Martino, University of Geneva, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2692-7133","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diego","family":"Garbossa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, AOU Citt\u00e0 della Salute e della Scienza, University of Turin, Corso Bramante 88\/90, 10126 Turin, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6034-5524","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pietro","family":"Fiaschi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscienze, Riabilitazione, Oftalmologia, Genetica e Scienze Materno-Infantili, IRCCS Policlinico San Martino, University of Geneva, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"659","DOI":"10.1186\/s13018-021-02775-x","article-title":"What is the effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation in the management of patients with spinal metastases? 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