Introduction: Citation analysis was performed in order to identify the top 50 most cited articles pertaining to the field of primary spinal tumors.
Methods: We searched the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge in order to identify articles pertaining to primary tumors of the spine. Impertinent articles were removed. The top 50 most cited articles were identified. Thereafter, article characteristics were determined including article type, article topic, level of evidence, and citation rate.
Results: The selected articles were published between 1951 and 2008. The most productive year was 1997 with 6 publications. The top 50 articles were published in twenty-two different journals. The greatest proportion of articles pertained to intramedullary tumors (21 articles, 42%). Four of the top five ranked articles pertain to intramedullary tumors. The majority of articles were outcome studies (18 articles, 36%). Case series predominated the list with 42 articles (84%). The highest rate of citation (12.9 citations per year) was a 1997 study on total en bloc spondylectomy. The second highest rate of citation at 12.8 citations per year was a neurophysiological report that described the utility of motor evoked potential to improve the long-term motor outcome in patients undergoing surgical resection of intramedullary spinal cord tumor (ISCT). The study with third highest rate of citation at 10.3 citations annually was in 2000 describing the neurological outcome and survival of patients who underwent surgical resection of ISCT at 5 years of follow up. Overall, there was a distinct lack of level I evidence, with level IV studies comprising nearly the entire list (45 articles, 90%).
Conclusions: We identified the 50 most-cited articles in the field of primary spinal tumors. This collection of articles serves as a reference for recognizing impactful studies in the field.
Patient Care: Provides a framework for the physicians and researches, within surgical and medical subspecialties, providing care for patients with primary tumors of the spine to appreciate most important literature in the field and direct further research,
Learning Objectives: Appreciate the trend of publications on primary tumors of the spine
Recognize the distinct absence of level I evidence in the literature
Appreciate the topics most commonly addressed in the literature on the primary tumors of the spine