Tumors of the vertebral column.

The clinical is, in most instances, non-specific. Pain is a common symptom, and may be spontaneous or be of a mechanical nature. It may simulate all the clinical syndromes of the degenarative spinal disorders, and thus it is not surprising that the correct diagnosis is often quite delayed. An expanding mass, which may reach considerable size is another manifestation. Finally as the tumor encroaches upon the spinal canal, it may Tumors of the vertebral column, with the exception of bone metastase are uncommon. They represent however an important cause of morbidity and mortality and require clear understanding of their biology and thorough knowledge of the various management alternatives. Bone tumors represent less than 1% of all cancers; of those, less than 10% are localized in the axial skeleton. Metastases are the most common by far, followed by myeloma, primary bone neoplasms being much rarer. The vertebral column contains a variety of histological components -osteoid, cartilage, fibrous tissue, vascular elements and bone marrow. All these can give origin to neoplasms. Thus the histological variety sarcomas is remarkable. In addition, paraspinal tumors, particularly sarcomas may secondarily involve the vertebra and it is sometimes not possible to determine their exact site of origino In the following table from Dahlin (1978) are indicated the most common malignant tumors of the spine excluding metastases.