title: Cervical chordoma in childhood without typical vertebral bony destruction: case report and review of the literature.
abstract: METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We present a giant cervical chordoma without typical vertebral bony destruction in an 11-year-old girl.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Chordomas are rare malignant bone tumors that arise at both the cranial and the caudal ends of the axial skeleton, characteristically destroying the bone. Cervical chordomas comprise only 3% to 7% of all chordomas. To our knowledge, there is no case of cervical chordoma in a child, presenting without vertebral body involvement, in English literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  Discussion on the patient's clinical, radiologic history, and histopathologic diagnosis of the resected tumor, with a review of the relevant background literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report the first case of cervical chordoma in a child without typical vertebral bony destruction, the diagnosis of which was difficult to confirm before and after operation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Giant notochordal rest and benign notochordal cell tumors (BNCTs) need to be recognized for differential diagnosis of this atypical chordoma. A long-term follow-up might be necessary for the diagnosis of this nontypical patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Zhongjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Cuiling
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qingjun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002648:Child; D002817:Chordoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000032:analysis; D011859:Radiography; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D009418:S100 Proteins; D007633:Keratins