spinal tumor

[JackieLL]

I have had lower back pain for approximately 3.5 years.  recently it has been more severe along with burning in buttox and legs and frequent falls.  Due to one of my falls I required x-rays where the was an incedental finding on my lower spine.  It was a tumor.  I'm schedule for an MRI and a nerve conduction test.  I also have been having female problems such as missed and/or irregular cycles.  I am 41 and my gyno has done an abundance of tests to rule out menopause, cancer of the uterous.  As a last ditch effort we were going to do an D & C.  However this last fall has delayed that and now this finding.  Can you tell me what possibilities this may be and what treatment may be down the road for me.  I also have a history of migraines.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

Sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. Unfortunately, not enough information is provided (or perhaps not enough is known) about the nature of the tumor to give an accurate response as there are many types of tumors that could affect the spine, spinal cord, pelvis, etc...  It's very important to know exactly where this tumor is - is it actually in the bone of the lower spine or the sacrum (such as that seen with cancer spread or "metastases" from another cancer like breast or gynecologic), is it in the spinal canal within or pushing on the spinal cord (meningioma-benign tumor), or is it a soft tissue mass within the pelvis (gyn CA)?  What I can say is that it's unlikely to be related to the migraines, which you probably knew already.  Also, to have burning sensations in the buttocks and legs as well as multiple falls, I suspect that the tumor has been pushing on the group of nerves coming out from the spinal cord that innervate the sensory and muscle fibers to your legs called the sacral plexus.  Another possibility is that it's higher up than the pelvis(but still in the lower back) and is pushing on the lower end of the spinal cord which could produce your symptoms.  Again, it's impossible to try and guess what your prognosis and treatment plan are as I would need more info about where the tumor is. Metastatic disease would require radiation therapy and workup to find the original cancer.  Meningioma may require radiation and surgery. GYN tumor would require surgery, rad, and possibly chemo.  But those are just a few examples and again, I can't be more specific. The MRI will be very helpful in better localizing the tumor and a full EMG (not just a nerve conduction test) can help show what nerves have been affected and to what degree. I hope things go well for you.