Study design: Case report.
Objective: We present a giant cervical chordoma without typical vertebral bony destruction in an 11-year-old girl.
Summary of background data: Chordomas are rare malignant bone tumors that arise at both the cranial and the caudal ends of the axial skeleton, characteristically destroying the bone. Cervical chordomas comprise only 3% to 7% of all chordomas. To our knowledge, there is no case of cervical chordoma in a child, presenting without vertebral body involvement, in English literature.
Methods: Discussion on the patient's clinical, radiologic history, and histopathologic diagnosis of the resected tumor, with a review of the relevant background literature.
Results: We report the first case of cervical chordoma in a child without typical vertebral bony destruction, the diagnosis of which was difficult to confirm before and after operation.
Conclusion: Giant notochordal rest and benign notochordal cell tumors (BNCTs) need to be recognized for differential diagnosis of this atypical chordoma. A long-term follow-up might be necessary for the diagnosis of this nontypical patient.