Cordotomy for Intractable Cancer Pain: A Narrative Review

Background: Cordotomy is an invasive procedure for the management of intractable painnot controlled by conventional therapies, such as analgesics or nerve block. This procedureinvolves mechanical disruption of nociceptive pathways in the anterolateral column, specificallythe spinothalamic and spinoreticular pathways to relieve pain while preserving fine touch andproprioceptive tracts.Objectives: The purpose of this review article is to refresh our knowledge of cordotomy andsupport its continued use in managing intractable pain due to malignant disease.Study Design: This is a review article with the goal of reviewing and summarizing the pertinentcase reports, case series, retrospective studies, prospective studies, and review articles publishedfrom 2010 onward on spinal cordotomy.Setting: The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center.Methods: PubMed search of keywords “spinal cordotomy,” “percutaneous cordotomy,” or“open cordotomy” was undertaken. Search results were organized by year of publication.Results: Cordotomy can be performed via percutaneous, open, endoscopic, or transdiscalapproach. Percutaneous image-guided approach is the most well-studied and reported techniquecompared with others, with relatively good pain improvement both in the postoperative and shortterm period. The use of open cordotomy has diminished significantly in recent years because of theadvent of other less invasive approaches. Cordotomy in children, although rare, has been describedin some case reports and case series with reported pain improvement postprocedure. Althoughcomplications can vary broadly, some reported side effects include ataxia and paresis due to lesionin the spinocerebellar/corticospinal tract; respiratory failure due to lesion in the reticulospinal tract;or sympathetic dysfunction, bladder dysfunctions, or Horner syndrome due to unintentional lesionsin the spinothalamic tract.Limitations: Review article included literature published only in English. For the studies reviewed,the sample size was relatively small and the patient population was heterogeneous (in terms ofunderlying disease process, duration of symptoms, previous treatment attempted and length offollow-up). Conclusions: Cordotomy results in selective loss of pain and temperature perception on thecontralateral side, up to several segments below the level of the disruption. The plethora ofanalgesics available and advanced technologies have reduced the demand for cordotomy in themanagement of intractable pain. However, some patients with pain unresponsive to medical andprocedural management, particularly malignant pain, may benefit from this procedure, and itis a viable treatment option especially for patients with a limited life expectancy whose severe,unilateral pain is unresponsive to analgesic medications.Key words: Cancer pain, cordotomy complications, cordotomy indications, intractable pain,open cordotomy, percutaneous cordotomy