A spinal tumor is a growth in the bones in or near the spinal cord area. Spine tumors are one of the most dangerous diseases as this may lead to impingement on the spinal cord or nerves ultimately resulting in heavy pain, neurologic problems and paralysis too. Symptoms vary from person to person but the first common symptom is a pain. Difficult in walking, numbness, scoliosis is some other common symptoms.
A spinal tumor can be diagnosed with a number of tests but the most important one is with blood work and diagnostic imaging studies. An X-Ray can well help in identifying this. A CT scan can give cross-sectional images in more detail. An MRI provides a clear picture of every soft tissue in detail. The tumor can be easily located with these tests. In some of the cases, there will also be need of biopsy to locate the tumor. The biopsy can further determine the type of tumor as well as the severity of the disease. Common benign may just need proper monitory and medications but malignant spinal will require surgery, chemotherapy radiations or any other treatment. There are so many specialists in the country so one can have the spine tumor surgery treatment in India.
There are three common types of spinal tumors:
Vertebral Column: As the name suggests, these tumors occur in the vertebral column and grow the bone or disc elements of the spine. This is one of the most common tumors in young adults and grows slowly. The problem also comes with this tumor is that this gets spread in another area. These tumors produce a heavy back pain, especially in the night. In women, spinal tumors most frequently originate from the breast whereas in men, it originates in the prostate.
Intradural-Extramedullary: This type of tumor grows within the spinal canal but outside the nerves. This tumor grows very slowly and symptoms are pain and weakness. In this tumor, two types of tumor are there:
- Meningiomas are tumors that occur in the membrane which surrounds the spinal cord. This type of tumor is most likely to occur in elderly women.
- Nerve Sheath tumors: This tumor arises from the nerve roots that come off the spinal cord. The tumor is slow growing hence it can take years to show the symptom.
Intramedullary: These tumors grow inside the spinal cord or nerves and often arise from the cells that provide physical support and insulation for the nervous system. This originates in the cervical spine and surgery of this tumor can be more difficult than other tumors.
Treatment
Treatment of the spinal tumor includes the complete removal of a tumor from the body but it comes with the risk of permanent damage to the spinal cord. All the factors such as age, gender, severity matter a lot in this treatment. Treatment options include surgery which is little risky. The other option is Radiation therapy which basically removes the tumor that remains after surgery. Chemotherapy is the standard treatment for several types of cancers with the usage of medicines. There are some really good spine specialist hospitals which perform Spine Tumor surgery treatment in India.
