[Topographic variants of cranial chordomas].

The objective of this study was to investigate variants of localization of cranial chordomas. We examined 220 patients treated in Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute (Moscow, Russia) since 1985 till 2007. In the vast majority of cases (93%) tumors were localized in sellar region (34%), clivus (32%) and craniovertebral junction (27%). As addition to previously suggested classifications we distinguish special group of craniofacial chordomas (5%). Although chordomas are theoretically midline tumors, according to our data in many cases (40%) they may be lateralized.