title: Osteoblastoma of the third cervical vertebra in a 16-year-old boy: case report and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND/SUBJECT: A rare case of osteoblastoma of the third cervical vertebra (C3) occurring in a 16-year-old adolescent is presented. He was admitted suffering from neck pain for more than 3 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plain X-rays, technetium bone scanning, CT scan and MRI indicated an expansile, partially sclerotic lesion of the C3 involving the superior facet and pedicle on the right side. The lesion was excised through a posterior approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Even though the 18-month follow-up is still a very short interval in our case, the subject's neck pain has resolved completely and there has been no sign of tumor recurrence in the recently taken imaging. There has been no clinical or radiologic sign of instability in the follow-up investigations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the third case of C3 osteoblastoma reported in the literature, highlighting the predilection of the reported cases to occur in 14- to 16-year-old boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A full investigation is indicated in youngsters suffering from persisting neck pain and complete resection of the lesion can prevent recurrence and malignant transformation. Long-term follow-up is needed to declare a lifelong cure of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran. abamirjamshidi@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Abbass
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amirjamshidi
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abbassioun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018215:Osteoblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*