Quality standard

This quality standard covers diagnosis and management of spinal metastases and metastatic spinal cord compression. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

In September 2023, changes were made to align this quality standard with the updated NICE guideline on spinal metastases and metastatic spinal cord compression. Statement 1 on information about recognising the symptoms of metastatic spinal cord compression for adults at high risk has been removed because it is no longer supported by the guideline recommendations. See update information for more details.

How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them

Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them. We check our quality standards every August to make sure they are up to date.

This quality standard was previously called metastatic spinal cord compression in adults.