Back pain that's different
Pain at the tumour site that worsens at night, isn't related to activity, and persists or progresses over time.
Cancers We Treat
Spinal tumours sit millimetres
Spinal tumours sit millimetres
from the spinal cord.
Tumours of the spine — most commonly cancer that has spread from the breast, lung or prostate — sit millimetres from the spinal cord, where every degree of precision matters. AARO's specialists developed some of Southeast Asia's first spine SRS/SBRT programmes: ablative radiation in 1–5 sessions.
1–5Sessions for spine SRS/SBRT
±1mmDelivery accuracy beside the cord
MostSpinal tumours are metastatic, not primary
Image · placeholderDr Daniel Tan reviewing spinal imaging with the AARO team.
Image · placeholderAnatomy illustration — the vertebrae and spinal cord
Spine Cancer · What is it
Primary or metastatic — location is everything.
Spinal tumours arise either from the bony vertebrae (vertebral tumours) or from the nervous tissue of the spinal cord itself. They can be primary — originating in the spine — or secondary, the result of cancer spreading from organs such as the breast, lung and prostate. Secondary spinal cancer is far more common, and multiple myeloma also frequently involves the spine.
Tumours are also categorised by where they sit: outside the dura (extradural — most commonly metastatic), inside the dura but outside the cord (intradural-extramedullary), or within the cord itself (intramedullary). Primary bone tumours of the spine include chordoma, chondrosarcoma, osteosarcoma, plasmacytoma and Ewing's sarcoma.
Even benign spinal tumours are dangerous: as they grow they can compress the spinal cord or nerves, threatening movement, sensation and bladder and bowel function — damage that can become permanent if untreated. That's why new, persistent back pain in anyone with a cancer history deserves prompt attention.
Spine Cancer · Symptoms
When to see a doctor.
Back pain has many causes — but these patterns, especially with a history of cancer, need prompt assessment.
Loss of sensation
Numbness, or reduced sensitivity to pain and temperature, below a level in the body.
Muscle weakness
Weakness in the limbs — mild to severe — or difficulty walking that can lead to falls.
Bladder or bowel changes
New problems with urination or defecation are red-flag symptoms needing urgent review.
Radiating pain
Pain that spreads from the back to other parts of the body along nerve pathways.
Paralysis
Any degree of new paralysis is an emergency — seek care immediately.
Spine Cancer · Diagnosis
How spine cancer is diagnosed.
Precise imaging defines the tumour's relationship to the spinal cord — the anatomy that determines both urgency and treatment.
Image · placeholderNeurological assessment of limb strength and sensation
Clinical assessment
A neurological examination maps which nerve levels are affected and how urgently treatment is needed.
Image · placeholderSpine MRI on the review console
MRI of the spine
Contrast MRI is the definitive investigation — showing the tumour, the cord, and the space between them.
Image · placeholderPET-CT staging review
Staging & primary work-up
For suspected metastases, CT and PET-CT identify the primary cancer and other sites of disease.
Image · placeholderImage-guided spinal biopsy illustration
Biopsy where needed
When the diagnosis is uncertain, image-guided biopsy confirms the tumour type before treatment.
Spine Cancer · Risk factors
What raises your risk?
Most spinal tumours are metastatic — so the biggest risk factor is a prior cancer. For primary tumours, some factors raise risk.
Prior cancer
Breast, lung and prostate cancers most commonly spread to the spine — new back pain with a cancer history warrants imaging.
Genetic syndromes
Neurofibromatosis types 1 and 2, tuberous sclerosis, Von Hippel–Lindau disease and Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
Radiation exposure
High levels of electromagnetic radiation exposure, especially during childhood.
Weakened immunity
A weakened immune system raises the risk of certain spinal tumours.
Family history
A family history of the genetic disorders above.
Multiple myeloma
A blood cancer that frequently involves the vertebrae.
Spine Cancer · Treatment
How AARO treats spine cancer.
Treatment balances tumour control against protecting the spinal cord — exactly the problem stereotactic radiation was built to solve.
Spine SRS / SBRT
Ablative radiation in 1–5 sessions, sculpted to wrap dose around the cord — for metastases and selected primary tumours. A signature AARO expertise.
Conventional radiotherapy
Wider-field palliative radiation for pain relief and cord protection where SBRT isn't the right fit.
Surgical coordination
Where stabilisation or decompression is needed first, AARO coordinates radiation with your spine surgeon — often as planned post-operative SBRT.
Re-irradiation
Previously treated spine segments can often be re-treated with stereotactic precision when disease returns.
Spine Cancer · Precision
Hours of planning, for one careful treatment.
Every plan at AARO goes through detailed contouring, dose simulation, and independent physics review before a single beam is delivered. We do this so the radiation hits exactly the tissue that needs it — and avoids the healthy tissue around it.
Image · placeholderTwo AARO radiation therapists at the planning console, reviewing a treatment plan together on a multi-monitor workstation.
We plan every dose.
Our medical physicists and radiation therapists collaborate on each plan — contouring tumour and organs-at-risk, simulating dose distribution, and independently checking every parameter before delivery.
Image · placeholderAn AARO team member reviewing verification imaging at the console — daily image guidance before treatment.
We verify every session.
Imaging before each fraction confirms the target's position to the millimetre — so tight margins stay safe, and healthy tissue stays out of the high-dose region.
Image · placeholderA patient comfortably positioned beneath the Elekta linear accelerator with green laser positioning lights and the signature starry ceiling above.
Spine Cancer · What to expect
Quiet, precise, uneventful.
Each treatment session takes 15–30 minutes. You'll lie on a precision treatment couch beneath the linear accelerator. Positioning lasers and daily imaging align you to within a millimetre of the planned position.
You won't feel the radiation as it's delivered. There's no anaesthesia, no recovery time, and no overnight stay. Most patients drive themselves home after the session and return to normal activities the same day.
Image · placeholderThe four senior AARO specialists at the Centre for Stereotactic Radiosurgery.
Spine Cancer · Your specialists
Meet Dr Daniel Tan→
Sub-specialist care.
Spine radiosurgery at AARO is led by the specialists behind the region's pioneering spine SRS work — the same consultant plans your case and follows you through it.
Dr Daniel TanSRS · SBRT · Brain · Spine · Prostate
Dr Jonathan TehGU · Head & Neck · GI · Sarcoma · Paediatric
Recently diagnosed? Or seeking a second opinion?
Book a 45–60 minute specialist consultation. We'll review your imaging and pathology, explain the options that apply to your case, and answer your questions.