Primary bone tumors of the spine are rare, biologically diverse and, for most clinicians, an uncommon event in a professional lifetime. Fewer than one in twenty primary bone tumors arises in the vertebral column, yet almost every one of them raises the same demanding questions: Which lesion in front of us is benign, locally aggressive or frankly malignant? Does it need observation, intralesional curettage, a denosumab course, radiotherapy — or a planned en bloc resection with all the morbidity this entails? Delayed diagnosis, an inadequately placed biopsy or a well-intended but oncologically incorrect first operation still determine the entire further course of these patients, and none of this can be corrected later.
Over the past years the therapeutic landscape has moved considerably. Molecular diagnostics have sharpened entity definition and increasingly guide systemic and targeted options. Particle therapy and high-dose stereotactic radiotherapy have matured into definitive treatment alternatives for selected chordomas and chondrosarcomas, shifting the indication for radical surgery in some anatomical situations. Patient-specific planning, navigation, three-dimensional templating and radiolucent carbon-fiber reconstruction have changed how resections are executed and how they are monitored afterwards. At the same time, surgical margins, functional preservation and long-term quality of life remain the decisive outcome parameters — and the evidence supporting many of our decisions is still largely retrospective.
The 8th International Spine Tumor Days take up exactly this tension. Continuing a tradition established over more than a decade of meetings dedicated to spinal oncology, the symposium brings together orthopedic and neurosurgical spine surgeons, musculoskeletal radiologists, pathologists, radiation and medical oncologists in a two-day, multidisciplinary format. Lectures by an international faculty are combined with case-based discussions, tumor board style debates and the open exchange of complications and failures that rarely reach publication. The focus is deliberately placed on what has genuinely changed in practice: staging and biopsy strategy, indications and limits of en bloc resection, reconstruction after total spondylectomy and sacrectomy, the evolving role of radiotherapy and systemic treatment, and the growing importance of referral networks, registries and centralized care for these rare entities.
We warmly invite colleagues from all involved disciplines to join us on 13th and 14th November 2026 in Dresden — to question established concepts, to discuss current trends critically, and to continue a conversation that none of our specialties can conduct alone.
Looking forward to meeting you in Dresden,
K.-D. Schaser A. C. Disch