MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES IN THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF METASTATIC SPINAL TUMORS AND THE ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In advanced stages of systemic malignancies, metastatic spinal tumors (MST) are complex patholo-gies that can cause severe pain, mechanical instability, and neurological deficits. A multidisciplinary approach is required in this case, and during surgical planning, numerous clinical, radiological, and biomechanical parameters must be jointly assessed. This chapter provides a detailed discussion of the epidemiological characteristics of MST, current scoring systems, diagnostic imaging techniques, and surgical indications. Furthermore, the benefits that artificial intelligence (AI)-supported analyses pro-vide in creating individualized treatment plans are assessed alongside their contributions, which range from imaging interpretation to surgical planning. Cutting-edge AI applications that improve clinical efficacy in spinal oncology and promote patient safety by lowering complications include automated segmentation, deep learning algorithms, robotic surgical systems, and finite element analysis. More successful AI integration into clinical decision support systems in the future will facilitate multidisci-plinary team coordination and improve patient functional outcomes.