[Chordoma - a review and report of two cases (author's transl)]

Chordomas can be categorized into those of clival, cervical and sacrococcygeal origin. The clival chordomas are primarily discussed in this report. In defining pathological anatomy or histology, a differentiation of benign from malignant chordomas by histological means alone is impossible. A preoperative diagnosis is only possible if tumor grows into the nasopharynx and allows a tissue biopsy to be taken. These tumors are clinically malignant though strict anatomic criteria for malignancy such as nuclear polymorphia or atypia, mitoses and metastases are rarely observed. The therapeutic results of operation and radiation are compared. Each alone fails because of the high recurrence rate of the tumor so that their combination is preferred. Although the prognosis of this disease is poor, one of our patients who was treated with radiation and surgery had a survival time of 14 years.

Malignant squamous papillomatosis of the mastoid

Benign squamous papilloma of the external ear is rarely reported in the literature. This paper describes the occurrence of an extensive benign squamous papillomatosis of the mastoid that showed an apparent malignant transformation with fatal results to the patient.

Giant-cell lesions of the facial skeleton

Differentiation of brown tumors of primary or secondary hyperparathyroidism, giant-cell reparative granulomas, and the "true" giant-cell tumors requires consideration of the clinical presentation, anatomic location, roentgenographic features, and results of metabolic studies. These lesions are indistinguishable by histologic appearance alone. Of the 32 giant-cell lesions of bone that were treated at UCLA during the preceding 20 years, seven were from the head and neck region. Four giant-cell reparative granulomas were easily accessible and were treated by local excision. The three "true" giant-cell tumors were found to be in inaccessible locations and thus were treated with full course irradiation. This resulted in tumor shrinkage, but it is probably not curative. Tumor type, location, and clinical setting are important in planning treatment of these lesions.

Chondrosarcoma of the jaws and facial skeleton: a review of the Japanese literature

From the 35 cases of chondrosarcoma, the maxilla was the most frequently affected site (35.5%) and the mandible was the next (29.4%). Painless swelling is the conspicuous symptom for chondrosarcoma of the lower jaw and nasal complications are often recorded with the lesions of the upper jaw. Several kinds of histologically malignant featurs coexisted which made diagnosis complicated. The three-year survival rate was about 50% for chondrosarcoma of the lower jaw and much lower for the upper jaw.

Giant cell tumour of the sphenoid bone with dural extension

A case of giant cell tumour of the sphenoid bone is reported. Besides the familiar presentation with headaches, ocular manifestations, and upper cranial nerve lesions, this case showed previously undescribed features such as grand mal seizures, hemiparesis with facial palsy, and dural extension. The reported high incidence in females is questioned. The tumour histologically showed some cartilage.