New York Spine Institute Spine Services

Chordoma

New York Spine Institute is committed to providing our chordoma patients with the highest level of care and personalized treatment. Our offices span throughout the Greater New York City area and are staffed with board-certified health care professionals to help you get your health back on track.*

CHORDOMA TREATMENT IN NYC & LONG ISLAND

New York Spine Institute is committed to providing our chordoma patients with the highest level of care and personalized treatment. Our offices span throughout the Greater New York City area and are staffed with board-certified health care professionals to help you get your health back on track.

NEW YORK CITY & LONG ISLAND’S TOP DOCTORS FOR CHORDOMA

Chordoma is a rare cancerous tumor that grows along the bones of the skull base and spine. A chordoma is formed from small remnants of embryonic cells that eventually develops into the disks of the spinal column.

New York Spine Institute is the proud home of board-certified physicians qualified to treat all spine-related conditions. We strive to provide every patient with the highest level of excellence, which includes a diagnosis they can understand and a personalized treatment plan.

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Why Choose NYSI

Quality Care

We understand our clients are unique, along with their condition. This is why we custom design each treatment plan on a case-by-case basis. Our patients will receive quality care, whether they require simple physical therapy with a back specialist or a complex operation with a spine surgeon.

Industry Leaders

With decades of Alexandre B. de Moura, M.D., FAAOS is New York Spine Institute’s medical director, leading a team of respected and experienced spine specialists. the professional staff at NYSI is head by Alexandre B. de Moura, M.D., FAAOS. The spine doctors at NYSI are industry leaders in various disorders and offer individualized treatment plans.

Multiple Languages

At the NYSI we New York Spine Institute realizes the only way to truly provide personalized care is by making our services accessible to everyone. Our patients have the option to receive care in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, and Russian. accommodating to our patients of different backgrounds.

Understanding the Causes Of Your Chordoma 

Chordoma is part of a larger group of malignant bone and soft tissue tumors known as sarcomas. While rare, they are the most common tumor of the sacrum (skull base) and spine. Additionally, a chordoma is typically a slow growing tumor, often without initial symptoms.

Chordomas are complicated to treat, due to the tumor’s position near the spinal cord, brainstem, and other critical nerves and arteries. The tumors are also known to recur after successful treatment, typically in the same place as the first tumor. Chordoma most commonly affects individuals aged 50-70, and is 2x more likely to affect men than women. Still, this type of tumor is diagnosed in just one million people per year.

It is important to note that there are four subtypes of chordoma, each defined by how they appear under a microscope. These subtypes are:

  1. Conventional (classic) chordoma. This is the most common form of chordoma.
  2. Poorly differentiated chordoma. This recently identified subtype can be more aggressive and grow faster than conventional chordoma, and is more common in pediatric and adolescent patients; it is also more common in skull base and cervical patients.
  3. Dedifferentiated chordoma. This subtype is more aggressive and grows faster than all other types of chordoma, and is more likely to metastasize.
  4. Chondroid chordoma. This subtype was more commonly referred to in the past, when conventional chordoma was difficult to distinguish from chondrosarcoma.

Diagnosing Your Chordoma

There are no known risk factors for chordoma, which is why it is important to be tested if you suspect something is wrong. Though most chordomas occur randomly and are not a result if an inherited genetic trait, there are genetic factors associated with chordoma. As an example over 95% of chordoma patients share a single-letter variation in the DNA sequence of the gene “brachyury,” though this variation alone does not itself cause chordoma.

A chordoma is diagnosed through a set of tests and procedures. A sample of cells, known as a biopsy, is removed and sent to the laboratory for testing. These cells will be examined by pathologists to determine whether cancer cells are present. In some cases, detailed images may be requested by your doctor. These imaging tests, which can be done right here at New York Spine Institute, will help visualize your chordoma and will be able to determine whether the cancerous cells have spread beyond the spine or skull base.

Treatment Options For Chordoma Tumor

Treatment options depend upon the size and location of the tumor, as well as whether it has metastasized. Options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapies.

Treatments for a sacral spine tumor typically range from surgery, radiation therapy, or radiosurgery. These three techniques all target the tumor directly and are aimed at removing the entire tumor. Treatment for a skull base tumor typically involves surgery followed by radiation therapy, as this location is at a much higher risk for damaging nearby healthy tissue and is near critical structures such as the carotid artery.*

*The effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment will vary by patient and condition. New York Spine Institute does not guarantee certain results.

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