The NOMS Framework: Approach to the Treatment of Spinal Metastatic Tumors

Spinal metastases frequently arise in patients with cancer. Modern oncology provides numerous treatment options that include effective systemic, radiation, and surgical options. We delineate and provide the evidence for the neurologic, oncologic, mechanical, and systemic (NOMS) decision framework, which is used at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to determine the optimal therapy for patients with spine metastases.

We provide a literature review of the integral publications that serve as the basis for the NOMS framework and report the results of systematic implementation of the NOMS-guided treatment.