Multiple epidural lumbar chordomas without bone involvement in a 17-year-old female: a case report

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Chordomas are rare slow-growing neoplasms or malignant tumors that arise from embryonic rudiments of the primitive notochord. They account for 1% to 4% of all primary malignant bone tumors. Surgery in addition to radiotherapy is often used as the optimum treatment but with marginal effectiveness as these tumors are relatively radioresistant. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reported cases of multiple and distinct epidural lesions without bone involvement in the literature. PURPOSE: To describe an unusual case of two separate epidural chordomas occurring in the lumbar spine without bone involvement. STUDY DESIGN: Case report. METHODS: Clinical, radiologic, and histopathologic evaluation of a 17-year-old female with two separate adjacent lumbar epidural chordomas without bone involvement treated with complete surgical excision is discussed. RESULTS: Four years after surgical resection of the tumors, the patient remains asymptomatic, and radiologic results revealed no recurrent lumbar epidural tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural chordomas appear to have a better prognosis due, at least in part, to the ability to more easily completely excise them. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.