Giant-cell tumor of the second cervical vertebra treated by cryosurgery and irradiation

A 17-year-old female presented with a large, destructive, giant-cell tumor of the second cervical vertebra. The lesion was obviously life-threatening. Owing to its proximity to the spinal cord and the danger of a pathologic fracture with cord transection and because of the effectiveness of cryosurgical methods in treating giant cell tumors of long bones, we decided to attempt local freezing of the lesion using a cryoprobe via a transoral approach. To further ensure tumor destruction, we followed cryosurgery with a course of radiotherapy (4600 rads). At this writing, 30 months later, healing has been excellent with no signs of recurrence, pain, tenderness or neurologic problems. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first time a vertebral body bone tumor has been treated by cryosurgery.