SACROCOCCYGEAL CHORDOMAS - PROBLEMS IN DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT

Chordomas are rare, insidious, and slow-growing but locally aggressive , malignant tumors originating from the primitive notochord and locali zed along the axial skeleton. Between 1988 and 1993, four patients wit h sacrococcygeal chordomas were treated at the Ankara Numune State Hos pital. There was a median 17-month interval between the onset of sympt oms and diagnosis. In all patients, a posterior approach was used. In addition, two patients were treated with adjuvant radiation therapy. T here were no serious intra-or postoperative complications. Early diagn osis and surgery plus radiation therapy seem to provide the best resul ts in terms of survival.