Spinal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma: A case report of a rare malignant tumor

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is an uncommon malignant variant of chondrosarcoma that mainly affects the bones and cartilaginous tissues, but may rarely involve the spine. Careful preoperative planning for surgical tumor removal and spine reconstruction is mandatory and must be based on oncologic and surgical staging. CASE DESCRIPTION: Over 1 month, a 16-year-old female became paraplegic with a T9 sensory level and urinary dysfunction. The magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intraspinal extradural T7-T9 mass that was isointense in T1W1 and markedly enhanced with gadolinium. The patient underwent gross-total tumor resection followed by an osteoplastic laminectomy with fusion. The histological examination was consistent with a mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. She had received radiation and chemotherapy. One year later, she was readmitted for tumor recurrence with multiple metastases involving L1, the lung, and peritoneum. Despite full course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she died after 6 months of the second surgery. CONCLUSION: Total resection of mesenchymal chondrosarcomas is the gold standard for treatment and is typically followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy. However, the status of residual tumor, local extension, and or metastases best determine the overall survival which may prove extremely limited.