Chordoma and Chondrosarcoma

Chordoma and chondrosarcoma of the skull base and spine are rare and often challenging tumors to treat. Surgery is usually attempted aiming for maximum safe resection. Radiation therapy is often used for local control regardless of the extent of resection. Delivering a high dose of radiation therapy (70–78 Gy) to treat these tumors requires advanced radiation planning to protect the nearby critical structures including the brain stem, optic nerves, and spinal cord. In this chapter, we present a summary on each step of the radiation therapy planning and provide case examples of chordoma and chondrosarcoma involving the skull base and spine.