Base of skull and cervical spine chordomas in children treated by high-dose irradiation

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome of children with base of skull or cervical spine chordomas treated by high dose irradiation.

Methods and materials: Eighteen children, 4 to 18 years of age, with base of skull or cervical spine chordomas, received fractionated high-dose postoperative radiation using mixed photon and 160 MeV proton beams. The median tumor dose was 69 Cobalt Gray-equivalent (CGE) with a 1.8 CGE daily fraction.

Results: The median follow-up was 72 months. The 5-year actuarial survival was 68% and the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 63%. The only significant prognostic factor was the location: patients with cervical spine chordomas had a worse survival than those with base of skull lesions (p = 0.008). The incidence of treatment-related morbidity was acceptable: two patients developed a growth hormone deficit corrected by hormone replacement, one temporal lobe necrosis, and one fibrosis of the temporalis muscle, improved by surgery.

Conclusion: Chordomas in children behave similarly to those in adults: children can receive the same high-dose irradiation as adults with acceptable morbidity.