Chordoma

Chordoma
MRI of extensive clival chordoma in 17-year-old male patient, axial view. Tumor in the nasopharynx extending from nasal cavity to brainstem posteriorly is clearly visible.
Specialty	Oncology

Chordoma is a rare slow-growing neoplasm (cancer) that arises from cellular remnants of the notochord in the bones of the skull base and spine. The evidence for the notochordal origin of chordoma is the location of the tumors (along the neuraxis), the similar immunohistochemical staining patterns, expression of brachyury, and the demonstration that notochordal cells are preferentially left behind in the clivus and sacrococcygeal regions when the remainder of the notochord regresses during fetal life.

In layman's terms, chordoma is a type of bone cancer, and is classified as a sarcoma.^[1] Chordomas are sometimes mistakenly referred to as a brain, brainstem or spinal cord tumors due to their location near those critical structures, but they are not derived from nervous tissue.