title: Natural history and surgical treatment of chordoma: a retrospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chordoma is a rare tumor with a high risk of locoregional recurrences. The aim of this study was analyze the long-term results from treating this pathological condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cohort study in a single hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective cohort study on 42 patients with chordoma who were treated at Hospital A. C. Camargo between 1980 and 2006. The hospital records were reviewed and a descriptive analysis was performed on the clinical-pathological variables. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and these were compared using the log-rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nineteen patients were men and 23 were women. Twenty-five tumors (59.5%) were located in the sacrum, eleven (26.2%) in the skull base and six (14.3%) in the mobile spine. Surgery was performed on 28 patients (66.7%). The resection was considered to have negative margins in 14 cases and positive margins in 14 cases. The five-year overall survival (OS) was 45.4%. For surgical patients, the five-year OS was 64.3% (82.2% for negative margins and 51.9% for positive margins). In the inoperable group, OS was 37.7% at 24 months and 0% at five years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Complete resection is related to local control and definitively has a positive impact on long-term survival.
authors: Department of Pelvic Surgery, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Samuel
authors: S
authors: Aguiar Júnior
authors: Department of Pelvic Surgery, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Wesley Pereira
authors: WP
authors: Andrade
authors: Department of Pelvic Surgery, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Glauco
authors: G
authors: Baiocchi
authors: Department of Pelvic Surgery, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Gustavo Cardoso
authors: GC
authors: Guimarães
authors: Department of Pathology, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Isabela Werneck
authors: IW
authors: Cunha
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Daniel Alvarez
authors: DA
authors: Estrada
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Sergio Hideki
authors: SH
authors: Suzuki
authors: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Luiz Paulo
authors: LP
authors: Kowalski
authors: Department of Pelvic Surgery, Hospital A. C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Ademar
authors: A
authors: Lopes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002817:Chordoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012447:Sacrum; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult