Presentation
Abstract A patient, presenting with incapacitating diarrhea of 1-month duration, developed orthostatic hypotension and progressive long tract central nervous system signs. No enteric disease was found to account for the diarrhea. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
An uncommon presentation is acute headache due to subarachnoid hemorrhage 8. In children, progressive scoliosis may be seen. Motor regression and frequent falls may be the presenting features in young children 7. [radiopaedia.org]
They typically present in patients in the fourth decade of life and have a male predominance. Osteosarcomas are most common in the lumbosacral segments. Patients often present with pain and a palpable mass. [patient.info]
Contrast enhancement is generally present and is usually heterogeneous. [appliedradiology.com]
Etiology Although no specific cause has been identified, a specific translocation involving the EWSR1 gene (22q12.2) is present in 90% of tumors of this type, most often a translocation t(11;22)(q24;q29). [orpha.net]
Musculoskeletal
- Back Pain
A rare but potentially serious cause of back pain Most people experience back pain at some point in their lives — in fact, lower back pain is the second-leading reason Americans miss work. [rush.edu]
When to See a Doctor Anyone with a cancer or a history of cancer should call the physician if back pain occurs suddenly and/or if existing back pain suddenly becomes much worse. [spine-health.com]
Symptoms may include: Abnormal sensations or loss of sensation, especially in the legs (may be in the knee or ankle, with or without shooting pain down the leg) Back pain that gets worse over time, is often in the middle or lower back, is usually severe [medlineplus.gov]
When To Call a Professional Back pain is a common problem and is rarely a sign of cancer. However, call your doctor for an evaluation of persistent or worsening back pain, especially if it keeps you awake at night. [drugs.com]
Non-mechanical back pain, especially in the middle or lower back, is the most frequent symptom of both benign and malignant spinal tumors. This back pain is not specifically attributed to injury, stress or physical activity. [aans.org]
- Spine Pain
The type of pain can provide important information about the tumor. Pain mainly when you sit or stand usually means that the tumor is causing weakness or instability in the bones of your spine. [mskcc.org]
Neurologic
- Long Tract Signs
In the classical case the tumor therefore presents with an early segmental differential sensory deficit, later followed by long tract signs, with subsequent weakness & wasting of musculature in the extremities. [thamburaj.com]
- Hyperreflexia
Other signs evident upon physical examination may include spine tenderness, stiffening of gait, trophic changes of extremity, sensory loss, hyperreflexia, clonus, and scoliosis or torticollis (generally in children). [emedicine.medscape.com]
- Clonus
Other signs evident upon physical examination may include spine tenderness, stiffening of gait, trophic changes of extremity, sensory loss, hyperreflexia, clonus, and scoliosis or torticollis (generally in children). [emedicine.medscape.com]
Urogenital
- Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence is often associated with a syrinx when the lesion causes disruption of the sacral pathways. Sexual dysfunction may also occur in association with loss of sphincter control. [neurospinewi.com]
Workup
After radiological workup, the mass was resected in December 2012. The histopathological examination report and immunohistochemistry suggested malignant melanoma. [jcmtjournal.com]
Treatment After diagnostic workup, spinal cord edema (swelling) should be managed preoperatively with oral or IV steroids. Edema is most commonly managed with a corticosteroid such as Decadron (dexamethasone). [neurospinewi.com]
The second panel shows a small enhancing ependymoma of the thoracic spine that was found during the workup for the cervical syrinx. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Treatment
Treatment for children is usually different than treatment for adults. (See the PDQ summary on Adult Central Nervous System Tumors Treatment for more information about the treatment of adults.) [cancer.gov]
Your radiotherapy team use this scan to plan your treatment. At the beginning of each treatment session, you lie in the same position but under the radiotherapy machine. The treatment itself only takes a few minutes. [macmillan.org.uk]
Suggest Treatment Indicate how you would treat this patient by completing the following brief survey. Your response will be added to our survey results below. Selected Treatment Posterior thoracic laminectomy and surgical resection. [spineuniverse.com]
Treatment options Your treatment team includes spinal cord cancer experts who work together to offer you the most current technology and treatment available. [ohsu.edu]
Simple cosmetic treatment does not prevent neurologic difficulties and may make later, more complete treatment difficult. [neurosurgery.ucla.edu]
Prognosis
Prognosis Survival without recurrence of localized forms is around 70%. For forms with lung metastases the survival rate is around 50%. Forms with metastases of the bones or bone marrow have a more severe prognosis. [orpha.net]
The prognosis in the low-grade group was significantly better than that in the high-grade group ( Figure 2b ). [nature.com]
What is the Prognosis of Spinal Schwannoma? (Outcomes/Resolutions) The prognosis of Spinal Schwannoma (benign tumor) is excellent, if the tumor can be removed without damaging the underlying nerve. [dovemed.com]
Prognosis: The prognosis for extramedullary intradural tumors is good following a total excision. [thamburaj.com]
Prognosis The prognosis will depend upon the location of the tumor on the spinal cord, the type of tumor and the size of the tumor at the time of diagnosis. [drugs.com]
Etiology
Etiology Although no specific cause has been identified, a specific translocation involving the EWSR1 gene (22q12.2) is present in 90% of tumors of this type, most often a translocation t(11;22)(q24;q29). [orpha.net]
The etiology of intramedullary spinal tumors remains obscure but undoubtedly varies according to histology. [emedicine.medscape.com]
(Etiology) The exact cause and mechanism of Spinal Schwannoma formation, in a majority of cases, is unknown; they are known to be the result of sporadic mutations. This implies that they do not have a preceding family history of the condition. [dovemed.com]
Etiology and Pathophysiology: Spinal cord tumors can be primary or metastatic. [neurospinewi.com]
Epidemiology
This single hospital-based epidemiological study, in the absence of any such or community-based epidemiological study in the region, will hopefully serve the purpose of spinal tumor predictability in a given population and the approaches of management [ruralneuropractice.com]
Summary Epidemiology Annual incidence is estimated at 1/312,500 in children under the age of 15. Clinical description It occurs between the ages of 5 and 30 with a peak of incidence between ages 12 and 18. The most frequent symptom is pain. [orpha.net]
Available data regarding epidemiology are limited and they are less common than the intracranial tumors (about 1:10). In most series, the average age at diagnosis is 40 years, ranging between 11 days & 74 years. Both sexes are equally involved. [thamburaj.com]
Epidemiology Frequency Spinal tumors occur with an incidence of 1.1 case per 100,000 persons. Intramedullary spinal tumors comprise approximately 2-4% of all CNS neoplasms. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Pathophysiology
Etiology and Pathophysiology: Spinal cord tumors can be primary or metastatic. [neurospinewi.com]
Pathophysiology The pathophysiology of intramedullary spinal cord tumors varies according to tumor type. Ependymomas are usually indolent, encapsulated tumors that are histologically benign. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Pathophysiology: D7 osteoblastoma The tumors can cause symptoms due to compression of the cord and interrupting the cord's blood supply. Initially, the veins get compressed, resulting in congestion and edema. [thamburaj.com]
Prevention
Prevention Although spinal cord tumors cannot be prevented, some forms of cancer that spread to the spinal cord can be prevented or cured before they can spread to the spine. [drugs.com]
Despite the inherent risks, surgical resection provides the best chance of preventing progression of symptoms. Intraoperative Imaging Figure 3 (below): Intraoperative photograph demonstrating highly vascular lesion. Figure 3. [spineuniverse.com]
This is unusual, which has made spinal cord cancers a focus of scientific investigation; their unique qualities may suggest new methods of cancer prevention or treatment. To continue reading this article, you must login. [health.harvard.edu]
You can prevent some tumors by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We do not know a lot about preventing spine tumors. Early detection of a spine tumor is the best known step to successful treatment. [mountsinai.org]
The more quickly symptoms develop, the sooner treatment is needed to prevent permanent injury. Any new or unexplained back pain in a patient with cancer should be thoroughly investigated. [medlineplus.gov]