====== Spinal cord tumor classification ======

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Advances in [[molecular pathology]] have resulted in better understanding and categorization of CNS tumors, leading to better decision-making on the most appropriate therapeutic approach for each category, as well as proposing new therapeutic modalities to treat these tumors
((Iranmehr A, Namvar M, Rezaei N, Hanaei S. Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors Among the Life-Threatening Health Problems: An Introduction. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2023;1394:1-18. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-14732-6_1. PMID: 36587378.)).


They can be classified according to many ways:

see [[Primary spinal cord tumor]]

===Age===
Adult spinal cord tumor.

[[Pediatric spinal cord tumor]].

===Localization===
[[Cervical spinal cord tumor]]

Thoracic spinal cord tumor

[[Intramedullary spinal cord tumor]].

[[Intradural extramedullary spinal tumor]].

===Histology===
        
glial neoplasms : 90 - 95% of all intramedullary tumours 
            
[[Spinal cord ependymoma]] : 60% of all glial spinal cord tumours 
            
[[Spinal cord astrocytoma]] : 33% of all glial spinal cord tumours 
            
[[Spinal cord ganglioglioma]] : 1% of all glial spinal cord tumours 
        
non-glial neoplasms
            
highly vascular lesions
                
[[Spinal cord hemangioblastoma]]
                
spinal paraganglioma
            
other rare lesions :
                
[[Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis]] 
                
primary lymphoma of the spinal cord
                
[[Spinal primitive neuroectodermal tumor]]
                
solitary fibrous tumour
    
intramedullary benign masses
        
spinal canal epidermoid cyst
        
[[Spinal cord lipoma]]

===Associations===

Intramedullary spinal neoplasms are more common in patients with neurofibromatosis:

ependymomas occur more often in patients with NF2
    
astrocytomas occur more often in patients with NF1.

===Cysts===

Approximately 70% of intramedullary tumours are associated with cysts.

Two types of cysts are recognised :

tumoural (or intratumoural) cysts
        
contained within the tumour itself
        
typically demonstrate peripheral enhancement
        
may result from necrosis, fluid secretion, or degeneration of the neoplasm
        
need to be resected along with the solid portion of the tumour because there is a high likelihood of neoplastic cells within the cyst wall

occurs in association with the following proportion of tumours:
            
spinal ganglioglioma : in 46%
            
[[spinal ependymoma]] : in 22%
            
spinal astrocytoma : in 21%
            
[[spinal hemangioblastoma]] : in 2 - 4%
    
non-tumoural (or reactive) cysts
        
occur rostral or caudal to the solid portion of the tumour
        
occur due to dilatation of the central canal
        
do not enhance

present in 60% of all intramedullary spinal tumours may resolve once the neoplasm is resected

Syringomyelia occurs in approximately 50% of all intramedullary tumours but is most frequently associated with [[spinal cord hemangioblastoma]]s.