Chordoma

Chordomas are slow growing and destructive tumors of the spine, which metastasize in about 10 % of cases.

Chordoma be counted among the bone tumors, although they are not derived from bone tissue, but from remnants of the notochord ( Notochordoa ) at the ends of the spine. With it, even their main locations, namely skull base and coccyx, explain.

Chordomas account for about 1% of all bone tumors and usually occur on only beyond the age of 30. Men are affected twice as often as women.

Treatment consists of surgical removal, which can not always be completely done, so usually radiotherapy is connected to keep the recurrence rate is low. Recent studies place the effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy with imatinib and Lapatinibnahe.