Fibrocartilaginous Mesenchymoma of the Spine

Case: A healthy, 19-year-old woman was incidentally found to have a large, destructive tumor of T11 without neurologic symptoms. Biopsy demonstrated fibrocartilaginous mesenchymoma (FCM). The patient was treated with resection including subtotal corpectomy and T8-L1 fusion with use of cage and allograft strut construct. The patient remained without recurrence over 3 years of follow-up. Conclusion: FCM arising from the spine is a rare tumor, of which this is the sixth report. FCM affects primarily young adults and is benign but locally aggressive, requiring complete excision to prevent recurrence.