Pediatric Intradural Spinal Cord Tumors

Intradural spinal cord tumors (SCTs) comprise a heterogeneous group of neoplasms, accounting for approximately 10% of pediatric central nervous system tumors. Over the past decades, the overall mortality and morbidity caused by these tumors have been dramatically reduced. The advantages of early diagnosis via modern imaging and modern neurosurgical tools such as intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring, the surgical microscope, and the ultrasonic aspirator have led to improvements in surgical morbidity and general prognosis. The standard of care of SCT is complete surgical resection, when possible, although adjuvant oncological therapy may provide benefit in selected cases. This chapter focuses on the diagnosis and management of common intradural (extramedullary and intramedullary) primary pediatric SCTs.