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Spinal Cord Tumors
The abnormal growth of cells in any part of our body is termed a tumor and it can be benign or malignant. The spinal cord is a long, thin, cylindrical bundle of nerve fibers, associated tissues, and support cells that connects nearly all parts of the body to the brain. Abnormal growth of cells in the spinal cord is termed as spinal cord tumor and there are two main types of tumors that can affect the spinal cord:
- Intramedullary tumors
- Extramedullary tumors
Primary & Secondary Spinal Cord Tumor
These are primary spinal cord tumors. This means that these tumors originate within the spinal cord.
Other than this, tumors from other parts of the body like lung, prostrate, etc. can also spread (metastasize)
to the spinal cord itself. They are called secondary spinal cord tumors.
Whether benign or malignant or primary or secondary, a spinal cord tumor can be life-threatening and
cause permanent disability
Cause of Primary Spinal Cord tumor
The cause of primary spinal cord tumor is not clear. Doctors and scientists believe that some of the primary tumors may occur due to defective genes that may be inherited or occur spontaneously or are caused by environmental factors, such as exposure to certain chemicals.
Symptoms of Spinal Cord tumor
The symptoms of spinal cord tumor depend on the following factors:
- Position and location of the growth (tumor) in the spinal cord
- Size and extent of tumor
- Type of tumor
- General health of the patient
Depending upon the above factors tumor can lead to any of the following symptoms in the patient:
- Pain in the back that may radiate to other parts of the body
- Pain worsens with activity and at night
- Abnormal or loss of sensations in arms or legs
- Loss of bowel or bladder function
- Decreased sensitivity to pain, heat, and cold
- Muscle weakness and function loss
- Difficulty walking that may lead to falls
- Muscle contractions or spasms
- Sometimes paralysis
Diagnosis of Spinal Cord Tumor
Spinal cord tumors may sometimes go unnoticed as their symptoms resemble various other disorders. But a the physician generally takes complete medical and family history of a patient that comes with symptoms that appear in more than one disorder. In addition to history, a thorough physical and neurological examination of the patient is also performed to evaluate the possibility of any tumor in the spine. Any suspicion may prompt the physician to perform the following spinal tumor treatment diagnostic tests for a confirmed diagnosis:
- Spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Computerized tomography (CT)
- Myelogram
- Lumbar puncture
- Biopsy
Treatments:
- Cerebrospinal fluid exam
- Cytology
- Myelogram
- Spinal CT
- Spine MRI
- Spine X-ray
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