Spinal cord masses in children

Abstract

Intramedullary spinal cord tumors refer to a subgroup of intradural spinal tumors that arise from cells within the spinal cord. They account for 35-40 % of all intraspinal tumors in children. Low-grade histology tumors predominate in all age groups, producing a slowly progressive clinical course with pain being the most common and earliest symptom. Astrocytomas predominate in younger children and decrease in frequency in adulthood when ependymomas become the predominant type. The prognosis for pediatric patients is favorable with sustained functional improvement expected in a signifi cant proportion of them on long-term follow-up.