Radiation Strategies for Spine Chordoma

Surgery alone provides suboptimal local control of spine and sacral chordomas. Radiotherapy (RT) may improve local control in patients undergoing surgery and be used as definitive-intent treatment in patients not undergoing surgery. Although conventional-dose RT is inadequate for these radioresistant tumors, newer techniques allow treatment of the tumor to higher, more effective doses while limiting spinal cord dose to safe levels. The best local control is achieved when RT is delivered in the primary setting; RT dose is a critical determinant of local control. RT should be considered for all spine and sacral chordoma patients.