Chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the skull base and spine

Section I: Embryology, pathology and molecular biology. Embryology of the skull base and vertebral column -- Pathology of chordoma and chondrosarcoma of the axial skeleton -- Molecular drivers in chordoma -- Molecular drivers in chondrosarcoma -- Section II: Demographics, presentation and diagnosis. Demographics, presentation, and diagnosis -- Differential diagnosis of clival and spinal tumors -- Imaging cranial base chordoma and chondrosarcoma -- Imaging chordoma and chondrosarcoma of the vertebrae and sacrum -- Section III: Surgery of skull base tumors. Surgical anatomy of the skull base -- Skull base tumors: surgical considerations -- Midline subfrontal approaches: the transbasal approach and extended modifications to access the clivus -- The endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) to chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Transoral approaches to midline skull base tumors -- Chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the skull base: anterolateral approaches -- Lateral approaches -- Subtemporal preauricular approach to the infratemporal fossa -- Chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the skull base: transpetrosal approaches -- Chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the skull base: retrosigmoid approaches -- The extreme lateral approach for chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the craniovertebral junction -- Staged approaches for large skull base chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Cerebral revascularization for skull base tumors -- Skull base reconstruction following resection of skull base chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Stabilization of the craniocervical junction following resection of chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the skull base -- Section IV: Surgery of spinal and sacral tumors. Chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the spine: pre-operative planning, surgical strategies and complications avoidance -- Surgical management of chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the cervical spine -- Surgical management of the chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the thoracic spine -- Surgical management of chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the lumbar spine -- Anatomical considerations for resection of chordomas and chondrosarcoma of the sacrum -- Surgical management of sacral chordoma -- Section V: Radiation therapy of chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Fractionated photon radiation therapy for skull base chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Stereotactic radiosurgery for skull base chordomas -- Proton therapy for skull base chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Photon irradiation for spinal chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Proton therapy for spinal chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Heavy ion radiation for chordomas and chondrosarcomas -- Section VI: Special considerations -- Chordomas and chondrosarcomas in children -- Recurrent skull base chordomas: role of surgery -- Systemic therapies for locally recurrent or metastatic disease -- Chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the axial skeleton: emerging therapies and future directions -- Section vii: patient directory -- Prognosis, survival and surveillance -- The chordoma foundation -- Sarcoma patient advocacy: hope and help"