• Yoon Jin Cha and Yeon Lim Suh.
• Department of Pathology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2019 Apr 8; 34 (13): e107e107.

BackgroundChordomas are aggressive bone tumors that have a predilection for the axial skeleton including the skull base and spinal/sacral bones. However, the histopathological and clinical differences between skull base chordoma (SBC) and sacral/spinal chordoma (SC) are unclear as previous studies have been focused on patient prognosis and treatment outcome. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of chordoma according to its location.MethodsPatients with chordomas were enrolled, and the histopathologic features were compared according to the tumor location.ResultsA total of 52 patients were enrolled. SBCs had more abundant chondroid matrix and diffuse growth pattern, while SCs had non-chondroid, myxoid matrix and a lobulating pattern, typical of chordoma. Old age and residual tumors were risk factors for shorter overall survival in SBCs. The chondroid matrix was an independent risk factor for shorter disease-free survival in the overall population.ConclusionChordomas have different histopathologic features depending on the anatomical location.© 2019 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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