CLIVAL CHORDOMA

TYPES 

There are three types of chordoma:

• Conventional chordoma are the slow-growing types of tumors
• The chondroid chordomadevelops particularly at the upper and lower ends of the vertebral column
• The dedifferentiated chordoma is a rare and aggressive type of tumor in which a certain area transforms to a high-grade lesion, typically fibrous histiocytoma, fibrosarcoma, and rarely, osteosarcoma or rhabdomyosarcoma.

SYMPTOMS

Here are some common symptoms of a clival chordoma:

• Double vision
• Visual loss
• Loss sense of hearing
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Facial numbness
• Loss of voluntary control
• Muscle weakness
• Nasal congestion

DIAGNOSIS

Your doctor will be able to diagnose a clival chordoma by performing  MRI and CT scans that will clearly show the extent of tumor and bony destruction in the skull. A focus MRI of the pituitary region, temporal bones, sinuses, or the internal auditory canals is important to come out with better details of a chordoma.

TREATMENT

Medical treatment

A tyrosine kinase inhibitor known as imatinib is recently approved as monotherapy for those with chronic myelogenous leukemia. It is also used to dissolve tumors caused by a chordoma.

• Surgery is one of the most recommended treatment for clival chordoma which aim to achieve the highest total resection of the tumor.

l Radiation treatment, in combination with aggressive surgical resection, is the best-suggested treatment for chordoma.