Spinal tumors can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Benign tumors usually do not cause a lot of problems but any kind of tumor near or on the spine is cause for concern since it can impact the nerves, leading to pain, neurological issues, and even paralysis. A cancerous tumor can cause all of these problems and more. A biopsy is necessary to determine what kind of growth it is.
Symptoms
Back pain is the most common symptom, particularly in the middle of lower back. The pain might spread to the hips, legs, feet and arms.
Other symptoms can manifest depending on where the tumor is and whether it is benign or malignant. You might lose sensation, feel muscle weakness, particularly in the leg, and have trouble walking. Sensitivity to pain, heat and cold often decreases. Bowel and bladder function can be affected as well. Varying degrees of paralysis in different parts of the body occur depending on which nerves are affected. Different kinds of spinal deformity, like scoliosis, can occur
Types of Tumors
Spinal tumors are grouped by their location in the spine.
Extrdural (vertebral) tumors: The majority of tumors that appear on the vertebrae are due to cancer from another part of the body spreading to the spine or, less commonly, cancers originating in the bone.
Osteoid osteomas, osteoblastomas, and hemangiomas are benign tumors that cause chronic pain, curvature of the spine, and neurological complications.
Intradural-extramedullary tumors form in the spinal cord's arachnoid membrane, the roots of the nerves that branch out from the cord, or at the base of the cord.
Intramedullary tumors also affect the spinal cord and occur inside the supporting cells. The most common kinds are astrocytomas and ependymomas. The former affects children and adolescents while the latter affects adults.
Causes
Researchers are still not clear on the exact origin of spinal tumors. They have discovered they contain abnormal genes but the causes of these abnormalities are still undetermined.
It appears that spinal cord tumors sometimes run in families and result from certain heredity conditions. Neurofibromatosis 2 causes benign tumors to form near or on the nerves linked to hearing, which causes a gradual loss of hearing in one or both ears. These tumors sometimes spread to other parts of the spinal cord. Von Hippel-Lindau disease is a rare hereditary disorder that produces blood vessel tumors that affect multiple parts of the body, including the spinal cord.
Monitoring
If doctors discover a spinal tumor that is benign, small, and not causing symptoms, careful monitoring is all that may be required. This particularly applies to people who are poor candidates for surgery or radiation treatments. A doctor will schedule periodic scans to check growth.
Treatments
Surgery is the preferred treatment for a tumor that can be removed with minimal nerve damage.
Radiation is used for tumors that cannot be fully removed through surgery or cannot be surgically removed at all. Tumors that have spread from other parts of the body are also treated with radiation.
Chemotherapy is not usually effective for cancerous spinal tumors but has proven effective in some cases. Your doctor will determine if this is an appropriate treatment.
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