The CASCADE study, a blinded, randomized clinical trial, enrolled 104 patients that independently scored fusion rates and clinical outcomes at 12 months follow-up.
The study found that Neck Disability Index scores decreased similarly in both patient groups. Also, the incidence of cervical spine fusion was statistically identical between study groups, and consistent with figures reported in other studies.
“Surgeons have long known that autograft is the holy grail of bone healing,” said Mark P. Arts, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon at the Medical Center Haaglanden in The Hague, Netherlands. “All osteoinductive and osteoconductive formulations on the market today aspire to show healing rates that are comparable to autograft bone. Hollow-body PEEK spacers used in cervical and lumbar spinal fusion must be filled with osteoconductive materials, such as allograft, bone autograft, or synthetic biologic formulations. The CASCADE study is the first to show that a synthetic material can heal and fuse as well as the patient’s own bone. We have shown that it is no longer necessary to use hollow interbody spacers filled with bone or bone void fillers to achieve optimal fusion results.”
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