Osteoid osteomas are benign. Schwannomas and neurofibromas arise from the nerve roots which come off the spinal cord. Meningiomas and nerve sheath tumors are usually benign. Filum terminale ependymomas arise at the base of the spinal cord and may be large and adherent to many nerves, making total removal sometimes difficult. Astrocytomas and ependymomas account for the majority and occur with about equal frequency.
Intramedullary tumors occur most often in the cervical spinal cord and are often benign.
Symptoms Spinal tumors may cause a variety of symptoms depending on their type, location, and rate of growth. In general pain in the neck or back followed by neurological problems, such as weakness or numbness of the arms or legs or a change in the normal bowel or bladder habits, is most common. In patients already diagnosed with cancer of another area of the body, the new onset of spinal pain may indicate a spinal fracture caused by weakening of the vertebrae by metastatic tumor. Tumors which arise inside the dura are rarely metastatic and are usually slow growing. Patients with these types of tumors may have pain for years before any neurological problems occur.