Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, matched fresh frozen sera (serum),  plasma, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) bio-fluids from patients diagnosed with acute spinal cancer.

Moreover, the sera (serum), plasma and PBMC bio-fluids are processed from spinal cancer patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.

In addition, the matched bio-fluids are collected from unique patients with spinal cancer and are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, development and drug discovery.

Spinal Cancer Overview

Spinal cancer or tumors can form anywhere along the spinal column, including the vertebrae, spinal cord, and tissue surrounding the spinal cord. In fact, most spinal tumors develop from cancer that has spread from another area of the body.

Specifically, spinal tumors may be benign, meaning noncancerous, or malignant, meaning cancerous. Moreover, they may be primary if they originate in the spine or secondary if they metastasize from another area of the body.
Furthermore, spinal cancer and tumors can start anywhere along or within the spinal column. The spinal column consists of the vertebrae, spinal cord, and surrounding tissue.
Additionally, the spinal column is a bone structure that provides support and protects the spinal cord. Notably, the spinal cord is the long band of nerves that runs along a person’s back. It transmits signals from the brain to the rest of the body.
Consequently, spinal tumors can develop anywhere along the spinal cord or the bones of the spinal column. In other words, these are two different types of cancers.
Ultimately, doctors often describe spinal cancer based on where it started to develop. In particular, cancerous tumors that develop on the spine most often come from another cancer that developed somewhere else within the body.

Consequently, preexisting cancer spreads to the bones of the spinal column in an estimated 30–70% of cancer patients.

In addition The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that doctors will diagnose just over 25,000 cases of spinal cord or brain tumors in 2022. Furthermore, they note that the chance of developing either of these cancers is less than 1%.

Symptoms of Spinal Cancers

Spinal cancer symptoms can vary based on the location of the tumor.

Moreover, regardless of location, back pain is the most common symptom of spinal cancer. In fact, the pain typically gets worse at night and improves with a person’s activity throughout the day.

Additionally, Other possible symptoms include:

  • First, trouble walking
  • Second, tingling, numbness, or weakness in both legs or arms
  • Moreover, sensory issues
  • Furthermore, loss of bladder or bowel control
  • Finally, difficulty balancing

Furthermore, worsening symptoms can indicate that the tumor is affecting the nerves in the spine.

Types of Spinal Cancer

There are several different types of spinal cancer. Healthcare providers differentiate them based on a number of factors, which include:

  • Firstly, the type of tumor
  • In addition, location
  • Next, whether it is primary or secondary

Consequently, a doctor will be able to provide a person with spinal cancer with information about the type of tumor.

Types of Tumors

Several different types of cells and tissue make up the spinal column. Therefore, resulting in several different types of spinal tumors. They include:

  • Firstly, Chordoma: These are malignant tumors that form in the spine and skull. They often occur around the lower spine and tailbone.
  • Secondly, Astrocytoma: This type forms in the supporting cells inside the spinal cord and may be malignant or benign.
  • Additionally, Meningioma: These are typically benign tumors that form in the meninges, the tissue that covers the spinal cord and brain.
  • Moreover, Hemangioblastoma: This type forms from blood vessels connected to the central nervous system (CNS), which consists of the spinal cord and brain.
  • Furthermore, Ependymoma: These tumors develop in the lining of the spinal fluid passageways in the spinal cord and brain.
  • Next, Glioblastoma: This is an aggressive, malignant tumor that forms from cells called astrocytes, which support nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
  • Also, Osteosarcoma: This is a type of bone cancer that may start in the spine but is more common in the shin or thigh bones.
  • Likewise, Spinal hemangioma: This type of tumor forms from the tissues of blood vessels inside the spinal column and is usually benign.
  • Similarly, Neurofibroma: This benign tumor grows on nerves found throughout the body, including the spinal column.
  • Lastly, Schwannoma: This is a typically benign tumor. It affects the cells surrounding the nerve fibers of the spinal cord, peripheral nervous system, and cranial nerves.

Location

A spinal tumor can occur anywhere along the spinal column. Furthermore, the exact location can help a doctor classify the tumor. Specifically, locations may include:

  • First, the cervical spine, around the neck
  • Second, the thoracic or upper- to mid-back area
  • Next, the lumbar or lower back area
  • Finally, the sacrum or bottom of the spine

In addition to the approximate location along the spine, a doctor may describe where the tumor appears within the spine. For example, descriptions may include:

  • Firstly, Intramedullary tumor: This grows within the spinal cord and accounts for about 5% of all cases.
  • Secondly, Intradural-extramedullary tumor: This grows inside the thin covering of the spinal cord, known as the dura, and outside the actual spinal cord. This type of tumor accounts for about 40% of all cases.
  • Lastly, Extradural tumor: This is located outside the dura and accounts for about 55% of all cases.

Metastatic Spinal Cancer

Most cases of spinal tumors have spread from other areas of the body. Specifically, some of the cancer types that most commonly cause spinal tumors include:

Stages

Spinal cancer stages do not follow the typical standards of cancer staging. Instead, doctors use the following grading system to describe the primary tumors that develop in the spine:

  • Firstly, Grade I: A slow-growing tumor with benign features, which is typically easy to treat with surgery.
  • Secondly, Grade II: A slow-growing tumor containing some abnormal cells that may spread to nearby tissue.
  • Moreover, Grade III: A malignant tumor that grows quickly and will likely spread to nearby cells and tissue.
  • Lastly, Grade IV: A malignant, fast-growing tumor that spreads quickly.

Additionally, doctors’ stage secondary tumors or those that metastasized from another area of the body based on the original cancer. For example, a secondary tumor found in the spine may be stage 4 breast cancer.

Causes

The exact cause of primary spinal tumors is still unclear. However, scientists suspect that, for instance, genetic conditions, such as neurofibromatosis 2 or autoimmune disorders, may affect their development. Additionally, exposure to carcinogens may also affect their development.

On the other hand, secondary spinal tumors occur due to metastasized cancer from another part of the body. In fact, lung and breast cancers are the two most common cancers that spread to the spine.

Risk Factors

Risk factors for developing primary spinal tumors may include having one of the following conditions:

  • Neurofibromatosis 2: This is a type of genetic disorder that can cause benign tumors. However, they more commonly develop in the ears and cause hearing loss.
  • Von Hippel-Lindau disease: This multisystem disorder causes benign tumors in blood vessels. They may occur in the spine or brain.

For secondary tumors, a person with a number of different cancers, such as breast or lung, may develop tumors in their spine.

A person who receives a cancer diagnosis should discuss their risk of developing a spinal tumor with their doctor.

Diagnosis of Spinal Cancer

Sometimes, a doctor may discover a spinal tumor during a routine evaluation. Or they may discover a tumor when a person seeks help for back pain associated with the tumor.

During an evaluation, the doctor will examine the person’s back and may do tests to help determine the person’s neurological functioning.

If the doctor suspects a person may have a spinal tumor, they will likely schedule tests, which may include:

  • Firstly, blood tests to check for cancer markers, which may include looking for increased levels of certain nutrients used to create bone
  • In addition, imaging tests, such as X-rays, a CT scan, or an MRI
  • Moreover, a biopsy
  • Lastly, a bone scan

Treatment of Spinal Cancer

A doctor may recommend one or more treatment options for a person based on the tumor’s location and other factors that may affect the outcome.

Firstly, the primary treatment is usually surgical removal of the tumor. However, a doctor may also recommend one or more of the following treatments to eradicate the cancer:

In addition, a healthcare provider may also prescribe or recommend therapies to help with symptoms associated with the tumor. For instance, this may include pain medications.

Outlook

A person’s outlook for spinal cancer depends on whether it is primary or secondary, where it develops on the spine, their age, overall health, and response to treatment.

Specifically, a doctor can typically remove lower grades of primary tumors with surgery. Conversely, higher grades may require a combination of surgery and other treatments to manage any cancerous cells.

Moreover, doctors cannot cure metastasized cancer, but treatment can help put it into remission, allowing a person to live a longer life.

Finally, the ACS reports brain and spinal cancer survival rates based on age range and where the cancer develops.

Biospecimens

biospecimen

Bay Biosciences is, indeed a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Specifically, samples available include cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Moreover, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.

Additionally, all our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In particular, critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Moreover, researchers find patient’s data extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, and other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Specifically, Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples, including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Therefore, please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

  • Firstly, Peripheral whole-blood
  • Secondly, Amniotic fluid
  • Third, Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL)
  • Moreover, Sputum
  • Furthermore, Pleural effusion
  • Next, Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
  • Also, Serum (sera)
  • Likewise, Plasma
  • In addition, Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)
  • For example, Saliva
  • Also, Buffy coat
  • Moreover, Urine
  • Furthermore, stool samples
  • Next, Aqueous humor
  • Likewise, Vitreous humor
  • Lastly, Kidney stones (renal calculi)
  • Finally, Other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.

Moreover, we can also procure most human bio-specimens, furthermore; we offer special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, and PBMCbio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols. Additionally, you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.

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