Imaging studies (CT or MRI) are used to determine whether a
lesion likely represents a spinal tumor. In some cases, biopsy can
be performed relatively non-invasively to confirm that a lesion is
a tumor, to determine the tumor type, and assess how aggressive the
lesion is. Imaging is also used to decide if surgical removal is
reasonable.
The images below (Figure 1) are from a dog with a spinal tumor
arising from the soft tissues that surround the spinal cord. The
arrows outline the lesion. Surgical removal was performed, which
resulted in nearly complete tumor excision (Figure 2). Tissue
specimens obtained at surgery showed that the tumor was a slow
growing meningioma, with a favorable prognosis for control.
Figure 1: Transverse T1 weighted
post contrast image of the cervical spinal cord. The white lesion
outlined by arrows is a tumor
Figure 2: Transverse T1 weighted
post contrast image of the cervical spinal cord immediately
following tumor removal surgery. No tumor tissue is visualized in
this section