Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users
to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response
is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual
response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the
browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published
online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed.
Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles.
The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being
wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our
attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not
including references and author details. We will no longer post responses
that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
Thank you for your valuable response. Apologies if the last paragraph was misleading as we were referring to little being known in the context of published clinical literature. I whole heartedly agree that accumulated clinical experience of both oncologists and palliative medicine physicians is important to capture. Unfortunately, the vast majority of formal studies relating to cord compression in cancer have excluded this aspect of care thus far.
I would like to take issue with the final paragraph of this review.
A great deal is known about how people react when told they have paraplegia, incontinence and an average life expectancy of 12 weeks. For a clinical situation which most Oncologists encounter once or twice a week to suggest "little is known" is misleading.
It may be accurate to say there are few formal studies, and, indeed, hard to design given the nature of the condition. But to dismiss accumulated clinical experience for a lack of formal studies is regrettable.
Author's Reply Re: Metastatic spinal cord compression: diagnosis and management
Thank you for your valuable response. Apologies if the last paragraph was misleading as we were referring to little being known in the context of published clinical literature. I whole heartedly agree that accumulated clinical experience of both oncologists and palliative medicine physicians is important to capture. Unfortunately, the vast majority of formal studies relating to cord compression in cancer have excluded this aspect of care thus far.
Competing interests: No competing interests