Pennington Z, et al.- Via a retrospective cohort study of preoperative neurological status, adjuvant treatments, CT-assessed body composition, health comorbidities, details of the oncologic disease, and Tomita and Tokuhashi scores of 75 patients with vertebral metastases, the researchers intended to assess the association of body morphometry to postoperative survival. In 75 participants, the most common primary lesions were lung, prostate, colorectal, breast, and kidney accounting for 17.3%, 14.7%, 12.0%, 10.7%, and 9.3% of the cases. The visceral fat area was the only independent predictor of a 3-month survival. Body mass index, Karnofsky performance status, modified Charlson Comorbidity Index, and postoperative chemotherapy use were the independent predictors of survival at 6 months whereas kidney primary pathology, body mass index, and being mobile prior to the operation were of 12-month survival. Hence, in patients treated for vertebral metastases, visceral fat mass was concluded as an independent, positive predictor of short-term postoperative survival. Furthermore, the inclusion of visceral fat volume as a risk factor could improve the prognostic correctness of recent predictors.