Conservative treatment for osteoid osteoma of the odontoid process of the axis: a case report

BACKGROUND: Osteoid osteoma is a primary benign bone lesion, which constitutes about 10% of all primary benign bone tumors and 3% of all primary bone tumors. The spine is involved in 10% of the cases, and the lumbar spine is the most commonly affected whereas the tumor is rarely seen in the cervical spine. With regard to the osteoid osteoma being located at the odontoid process of the axis, limited cases have been reported in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: An osteoid osteoma of the odontoid process of the axis was diagnosed by computed tomography in an 18-year-old male patient with a 3-month history of pain. The patient’s parents refused surgery for fear of surgical risks and high expense. Considering the benign nature of osteoid osteoma, we prescribed celecoxib 200 mg per day to the patient. With the treatment, the patient’s pain was alleviated gradually and the range of motion of the cervical spine also recovered to normal. At the two-year phone follow-up, the patient was free of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: For this kind of benign tumor, conservative treatment plus close follow-up is applicable whereas surgery bears significant risks and a heavy economic burden.