Spinal cord tumors are rare, especially in children. A tumor in or near the spinal cord can cause serious neurological issues as the mass presses on nerves. The confined space of the spinal column makes a spinal tumor dangerous whether benign or cancerous.
Symptoms of a pediatric spinal cord tumor are vague and often can be mistaken for other conditions. A frequent symptom of a child’s spinal tumor is back or neck pain — a complaint that children rarely have. Pain may be localized to a specific area or spread over a large portion of the back. A minor injury might precede the pain.
Pain from a spinal cord tumor typically develops over time and can come and go as a spine tumor slowly grows. The pain often is dull and aching around segments of the vertebrae. Other symptoms can include mild weakness or mild difficulty walking. As a tumor grows, it can misalign the spine and cause a curvature such as scoliosis.
Make an appointment with your child’s pediatrician for back pain that doesn’t go away or gets worse.
High activity and growing pains may be the cause of back pain, and your child’s medical provider may check for kidney stones, pneumonia and other spine issues. If a spinal cord tumor is suspected, your child’s provider may order an MRI of your child’s back or entire spine, as a tumor could cause pain elsewhere on the spinal column.
MRI pictures can identify or rule out a spinal cord tumor as the cause of your child’s symptoms.
Norton Children’s Leatherman Spine treats spinal cord tumors in children with a multidisciplinary team of specialists that include experienced physicians from Norton Children’s Cancer Institute and Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute. With multiple specialists bringing their unique expertise to your child’s care, it’s like getting a second, third or fourth opinion.
Other specialties that may be involved with spinal cord tumor care include:
Each week, specialists from all the disciplines involved meet to discuss each child’s condition, share viewpoints and work together to develop a customized care plan.
Prognoses for children with spinal tumors have improved significantly in the past two decades. Most children with spinal tumors are long-term survivors due to many advancements made in the field, including improved surgical techniques, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
A benign tumor or slow-growing tumor may involve careful monitoring before any aggressive treatment is pursued. Often, however, surgery is the first step to remove as much of the tumor as possible, while preserving spinal cord function. Depending on the type of tumor and whether it’s cancer, follow-up treatments can include radiation therapy and chemotherapy to target and destroy any cancer cells that couldn’t be removed surgically.
The multidisciplinary team will craft a treatment plan customized to your child’s condition and review your child’s progress after initial treatment.
The most common spinal cord tumor in children is astrocytoma. This tumor originates from glial cells and is part of a broader category of intramedullary spinal cord tumors that develop in the spinal cord. Astrocytoma is a cancer and after surgery, follow-up care typically involves radiation or chemotherapy.
Astrocytoma in the spinal cord often causes back pain, weakness, numbness or difficulties with coordination.
Ependymomas and gangliogliomas are the next most common spinal cord tumors.
A ganglioglioma grows from nerve cells and are more commonly found in the brain than the spinal cord. Often benign, a ganglioglioma can cause back pain, weakness and changes to the senses due to spinal cord compression.
Spinal ependymomas grow from the central canal in the spinal cord, typically in the neck, and can be benign or malignant. Ependymoma tumors are more common in the brain than the spinal cord. When in the spinal cord, they more frequently cause sensory symptoms, but can also cause back pain and weakness.