Chordoma

Nineteen patients with chordoma seen at M. D. Anderson Hospital from 1948 to 1976 received definitive treatment. Six patients presented with disease in the basisphenoid region, 2 with disease in the lumbar spine (vertebral area), and 11 with disease in the sacrococcygeal area. Twelve of the 19 patients were male, and 5 patients were less than 16 years of age. Nine patients were treated with a combination of surgery and postoperative radiation therapy, 6 received radiation therapy only, and 4 underwent surgery only. Although the number of patients studied is small, the results suggest that surgery only is not an effective means of treating this disease. Radiation therapy only produces palliation for large inoperable lesions, but excision followed by irradiation is the best treatment for securing prolonged local control.