Surgery is the treatment of choice. Radiation therapy can be effective as an adjunctive treatment. Multiple relapses are common and these are effectively managed by repeat surgery as this can significantly prolong a symptom free survival time. Chondrosarcomas Chondrosarcomas arise from cartilage remnants in the skull base as this part of the skull grows from endochondral ossification. Their malignant potential is variable and they behave in a fashion similar to chordomas.
Surgical resection is the preferred method of treatment.
Clinically these tumors behave in the same manner as cholesteatomas of the petrous apex. CT scans demonstrate a nonhomogeneous lesion of less density than brain without enhancing characteristics. A rapid impairment of hearing, other cranial neuropathies, and brainstem dysfunction suggest malignant neoplasms of the posterior fossa, especially in a patient with a history of another malignancy. In children, brain-stem gliomas are reportedly the most common source of CPA neoplasms. As a group, the intraaxial tumors are usually isointense on T1 MRI images and hyperintense on T2 images.