Where is a chordoma located?

Where is a chordoma located?

Chordoma is a slow growing cancer of tissue found inside the spine. Chordoma can happen anywhere along the spine. It is most often found near the tailbone (called a sacral tumor) or where the spine meets the skull (called a clival tumor). Chordoma is also called notochordal sarcoma.

What is the survival rate of chordoma?

Chordomas are malignant and potentially life threatening tumors. Currently the median survival in the United States is about 7 years. The overall survival rates are 68% at 5 years and 40% at 10 years. Complete surgical resection offers the best chance for long-term survival.

What causes sacral chordoma?

The notochord disappears and is replaced by the spine before birth, but some notochord cells may remain in the spine or skull. These cells may start to rapidly reproduce and attack the spinal bones, eventually resulting in a chordoma tumor.

Do chordomas metastasize?

If chordomas spread to other parts of the body (metastasize), the most common places they spread to are the lungs, liver, bones, or lymph nodes. Metastasis usually only occurs when the primary tumor has advanced and is rarely reported at the time of initial diagnosis.

Is sacral chordoma rare?

Sacral chordomas are rare, slow-growing tumours that are amenable to surgery, but unfortunately often diagnosed late. The aim of the study was to identify presenting symptoms, which may aid diagnosis and reduce the treatment time. Forty-four patients were identified with sacral chordoma between 1989 and 2006.

Can chordoma be benign?

Because chordomas are low-grade, sometimes they are mistakenly called benign. Benign tumors do not invade other tissue, do not metastasize, and usually do not return after being removed.

What is metastatic chordoma?

Metastatic chordoma is one or more tumors that have spread to other parts of the body. Advanced disease is very unlikely to be cured and currently there is no known cure for metastatic diseaseXWhen tumors have spread to other parts of the body from the original tumor site..

Are chordomas malignant?

Chordomas form from remnants of the notochord — embryonic tissue that eventually forms the center of spinal disks. These tumors are considered malignant and may metastasize, though they typically grow slowly.

Is a chordoma a brain tumor?

Skull base chordomas are sometimes called brain tumors because they grow inside the skull toward the brain; however, they do not actually develop from brain cells. Mobile spine. The remaining 20 percent of chordomas form in the spine at the level of the neck, chest, or lower back.