Bone tumors often occur in bones formed by intramembranous ossification, most commonly in the craniofacial bones, known as parosteal bone tumors; occasionally, they are found in soft tissues, referred to as extraskeletal bone tumors. Bone tumors formed by intramembranous ossification may stop growing as the bones mature and do not become malignant, generally resulting in a good prognosis. However, bone tumors occurring in the cervical spine are extremely rare. Additionally, multiple bone tumors combined with intestinal polyposis are called Gardner syndrome, which is hereditary.

bubble_chart Pathological Changes

Cervical bone tumor is composed of well-differentiated mature bone tissue with a distinct trabecular structure. Depending on its density, bone tumors are classified into three types: the compact type, where the tumor tissue appears ivory-like, is hard in texture, and has a cross-section resembling smooth cortex; the cancellous type, where the tumor body shows a spongy appearance with visible bone marrow tissue; and the mixed type, which exhibits characteristics of both. Based on their growth pattern, they can be divided into two types: exophytic bone tumors, which grow on the surface of cervical vertebrae, and endophytic bone tumors or "bone islands," which grow within the medullary cavity. In adult bone tumors, if there is no osteoblastic proliferation around the trabeculae, it indicates that the tumor has stopped growing.

bubble_chart Clinical Manifestations

The clinical manifestations of cervical spine bone tumor patients are primarily caused by the tumor's compression of surrounding tissues; therefore, the severity of symptoms is related to factors such as the size of the tumor, its growth rate, and the degree of compression on adjacent tissues. Small bone tumors are generally asymptomatic and are often discovered incidentally during cervical spine X-rays taken for other reasons. Large bone tumors, depending on the tissues they compress, exhibit corresponding compressive symptoms.

X-ray findings: If the tumor occurs within the vertebral body, it appears as a uniformly dense and whitened shadow, which is also a characteristic feature of vertebral bone tumors.

bubble_chart Treatment Measures

If the patient has no clinical symptoms, no treatment is necessary, but regular clinical follow-up observation is required. If the patient exhibits clinical compression symptoms, surgical treatment is needed. The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor tissue and stabilize the spine, specifically through tumor curettage and bone graft fusion.