CHORDOMAS OF THE SKULL BASE

Selçuk Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, KBB Anabilim Dalı, Konya, Türkiye Chordoma is a rare malignant tumour that takes its origin from a persisting remnant of the notochord. It is slow growing and locally invasive. The signs and symptomps are dependent on the site of the lesion. The treatment is surgical. But because of the close location with vital structures and deep location, the complate resection can not be performed to skull base chordomas. Thus postoperative radiotherapy is required. Prognosis is poor. In this study, three skull base chordoma cases were presented as a rare clinical picture. The literature was reviewed and the characteristics of the disease were discussed. Keywords : Chordoma, skull base, treatment