Vertebral hemangiomas: their demographical characteristics, location along the spine and position within the vertebral body

Viviane Slon, Dan Stein, Haim Cohen, Tatiana Sella-Tunis, Hila May, Israel Hershkovitz*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: Vertebral hemangiomas (VHs) are the most common form of benign tumors in the spine. The aim of this research was to study the prevalence of VHs in the human population, their distribution along the spine and their location in the vertebral body. Methods: The presence of VHs was assessed in full spine CT scans of 196 adults. Demographic data were gathered from medical records. Results: VHs were present in 26.0 % of the individuals studied, a rate significantly higher (χ2 = 43.338, p < 0.001) than the prevalence reported in the literature (10.7 %). Multiple VHs (≥2) appeared in 7.2 % of the population studied. VHs prevalence is sex-independent, appearing in 28.6 % of females and 23.5 % of males (χ2 = 0.663, p = 0.416); and age-dependent: the mean age of affected individuals (65.8 years) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than unaffected individuals (56.2 years). VH size was also age-dependent (p = 0.023). No vertebra was significantly more prone to be affected by a hemangioma. T11 and T12 show the highest prevalence of VHs (3.57 % of vertebrae affected). VHs were found in similar percentages in the anterior and posterior parts of the vertebral body (52.8 vs. 47.2 %, respectively); and at its center and periphery (50.1 and 49.9 %, respectively). VHs usually appeared at mid-height of the vertebral body or slightly higher. Conclusions: The reported prevalence of VHs is dependent on the demographic structure of the population studied, the size of the VHs and the method used to identify them. Overall, the phenomenon is more frequent than usually reported. VHs may appear at all vertebral levels and in all areas of the vertebral body.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2189-2195
Number of pages7
JournalEuropean Spine Journal
Volume24
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2015

Keywords

  • Benign tumor
  • Computed tomography
  • Spine
  • Vascular malformation
  • Vertebral body

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