| Lifetime incidence of SCC in cancer patients:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36 | 1–6% |
| Median overall survival of patients with SCC: | 3–16 months |
| SCC as the initial manifestation of cancer: | 20–30% of all cases of SCC |
| SCC as the initial manifestation of cancer: | Lung cancer Cancer of unknown primary Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Multiple myeloma |
SCC distribution along spine: Thoracic spine: Lumbar spine: Cervical spine: | 60–80% 15–30% 4–13% |
| Sites of Involvement | Percentage of SCC | Histology (% Among All Cases) |
| Extradural metastases:✫ | 90–95 | Prostate cancer (15–20%) Breast cancer (15–20%) Lung cancer (15–20%) Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (5–10%) Multiple myeloma (5–10%) Renal cancer (5–10%) |
| Intradural masses: | 5–10 | Meningioma Nerve sheath tumors Large leptomeningeal metastases |
| Transforaminal progression of paravertebral tumor: | Uncommon | Lymphomas Neuroblastomas |
| Primary hematogenous seeding to epidural space: | Rare | |
✫The most common mechanisms are: Direct extension into the epidural space of a hematogenous metastasis to a vertebral body Pathologic fracture of a vertebral body infiltrated by a metastatic deposit resulting in cord injury by a bone fragment or spinal instability |