CHORDOMA

Course overview

A CHORDOMA IS A LOW-GRADE, SLOW-GROWING BUT LOCALLY INVASIVE AND LOCALLY AGGRESSIVE TUMOR THAT IS A TYPE OF SARCOMA. CHORDOMAS ARISE FROM REMNANTS OF THE NOTOCHORD AND OCCUR ALONG THE MIDLINE SPINAL AXIS BETWEEN THE CLIVUS AND THE SACRUM, ANTERIOR TO THE SPINAL CORD. ABOUT 50 PERCENT OF CHORDOMAS ARE SACRAL, 35 PERCENT OCCUR IN THE SKULL BASE AND 15 OCCUR IN THE VERTEBRAL BODIES OF THE MOBILE SPINE, MOST COMMONLY THE SECOND CERVICAL VERTEBRAE FOLLOWED BY THE LUMBAR AND THEN THORACIC SPINE. OVERALL 5-YEAR SURVIVAL IS APPROXIMATELY 50 PERCENT, AND TREATMENT IS EN BLOC SURGICAL RESECTION FOLLOWED BY HIGH-DOSE RADIATION THERAPY SUCH AS PROTON BEAM RADIATION. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE CLINICAL EVALUATION OF CHORDOMA AND EXPLAINS THE ROLE OF THE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL TEAM IN COORDINATING THE CARE OF THIS CONDITION.