Cordoma

Descripción general

El cordoma es un tipo poco frecuente de cáncer de huesos que se forma generalmente en los huesos de la columna vertebral o en el cráneo. Se forma con mayor frecuencia en el sitio donde se ubica el cráneo en la columna vertebral (la base del cráneo) o en la parte inferior de la columna vertebral (el sacro).

El cordoma comienza en las células que alguna vez formaron un conjunto de células en el embrión en desarrollo y luego se convierten en los discos de la columna vertebral. La mayoría de estas células desaparecen cuando naces o poco después. Pero, a veces, algunas de estas células permanecen y, raramente, pueden volverse cancerosas.

El cordoma se produce con mayor frecuencia en adultos de entre 40 y 60 años, aunque puede ocurrir a cualquier edad.

El cordoma suele crecer lentamente. Puede ser difícil de tratar porque generalmente se ubica muy cerca de la médula espinal y de otras estructuras importantes, como las arterias, los nervios o el cerebro.

Síntomas

Signs and symptoms of chordoma may include:

• Headache.
• Neck pain.
• Vision trouble, including blurred or double vision or vision loss.
• Trouble with balance.
• Hearing loss.
• Facial paralysis.
• Muscle weakness.
• Trouble swallowing.
• Shortness of breath.

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional if you have any symptoms that worry you.

Causas

It's not clear what causes most chordomas. This cancer most often starts in the bones in the skull or spine.

Chordoma happens when cells in the bones develop changes in their DNA. A cell's DNA holds the instructions that tell the cell what to do. In healthy cells, the DNA gives instructions to grow and multiply at a set rate. The instructions tell the cells to die at a set time. In cancer cells, the DNA changes give different instructions. The changes tell the cancer cells to grow and multiply quickly. Cancer cells can keep living when healthy cells would die. This causes too many cells.

The cancer cells form a mass called a tumor. The tumor can grow to invade and destroy healthy body tissue. In time, cancer cells can break away and spread to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads, it's called metastatic cancer.

Factores de riesgo

Factors that may increase the risk of chordoma include:

• Age. Chordoma can happen at any age. Most often, however, this cancer happens in people ages 40 to 60.
• Family history. People with a family history of chordoma may have a greater chance of developing it.

Living with cordoma?

Connect with others like you for support and answers to your questions in the Sarcoma support group on Mayo Clinic Connect, a patient community.

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