title: Humeral metastasis from a sacrococcygeal chordoma: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chordomas are rare tumors of the skeletal system that arise from an intra-osseous benign precursor of notochordal cells. They are mainly locally aggressive. However, metastases to other sites, including the humeri, resulting in pathological fractures have been reported. We report the case of a patient with a metastatic chordoma that produced a pathologic fracture of the humerus.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report the case of a 60-year-old Iranian woman who presented with a fracture of her right humerus following a minor trauma. She had a history of a sacrococcygeal chordoma. Histological and immunohistochemical studies of the fracture site suggested the diagnosis of a chordoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chordoma is a rare tumor and rarely metastasizes, but it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of epithelioid bone tumors. The only current effective treatment for this type of tumor is carbon ion therapy. There is currently no effective medical therapy available for advanced chordoma, and this type of tumor is not very responsive to radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. negarazarpira@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Negar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Azarpira
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Solooki
authors.forename: Sepideh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sepidbakht
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mardani