Summary
Among spinal bone tumors, chondrosarcoma occupies the third rank after myeloma and chordoma. Its location in the cervical spine is exceptional. The authors report a case of this lesion involving C7. This new case illustrates well the therapeutic and diagnostic difficulties of this tumor site at the cervico-thoracic level. The radiologic and histologic aspects do not differ from these of the other locations of this tumor. This insidious lesion is often voluminous at the time of discovery. This is why diagnostic delay does not always allow a wide carcinologically satisfactory excision. Despite the development of radiotherapy protocols, the only efficient treatment consists of total vertebrectomy. Surgical procedures are often carcinologically insufficient at the cervical level, which explains the poor prognosis of this tumor. However, results should improve with earlier diagnosis thanks to new radiologic imaging, especially with MRI. This will be then allow better surgical treatment.
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Dejean, O., Hardy, P., Stromboni, M. et al. Chondrosarcoma of the cervical spine: A case report. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 8, 37–39 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01782896
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01782896