brain, spinal cord, and nerve disorders
Spinal Tumors
Introduction
A spinal tumor is a noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant) growth in or around the Spinal Cord . People may have weak muscles, lose sensation in particular areas of the body, or become unable to control bowel and bladder function. Magnetic resonance imaging can usually detect spinal tumors. Treatment may include corticosteroids, surgical removal, and radiation therapy. (See also Overview of Tumors of the Nervous System .) Spinal tumors are much less common than brain tumors. Spinal tumors may be Primary Secondary Primary intradural spinal tumorsmay be cancerous or noncancerous. They are typically noncancerous. Intradural tumors include meningiomas, schwannomas and myxopapillary ependymomas. Primary intradural spinal tumors may originate in the cells within or next to the spinal cord. Only about one third of primary spinal tumors originate in the cells within the spinal cord. These tumors can extend within the spinal cord, block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord), and cause a fluid-filled cavity ( Syrinx of the Spinal Cord or Brain Stem ) to form. Astrocytomas and ependymomas are the most common spinal tumors. Most are not cancerous. Most intradural spinal tumors originate in cells next to the spinal cord, such as those of the meninges—the layers of tissue that cover the spinal cord (see figure How the Spine Is Organized ). Secondary spinal tumors, which are more common, are metastases of cancer originating in another part of the body and thus are always cancerous. These metastases typically spread to bones in the spine (vertebrae) and the space between the bone and the outer layer of tissue around the spinal cord (epidural space). Sometimes these tumors spread to the spinal cord. Metastases most commonly spread to the vertebrae from cancers that originate in other parts of the body. These cancers include Lung Cancer None Breast Cancer None Prostate Cancer None Kidney Cancer None Thyroid Cancer None Overview of Lymphoma None Melanoma None Metastases usually put pressure on (compress) the spinal cord or nerve roots from the outside the dura. Many of these tumors invade and destroy bone before they compress the spinal cord. Most secondary spinal tumors that are located in the cells next to the spinal cord (rather than within it) are metastatic. 