article_snippet.sent: Around 1,000 people a year are diagnosed with tumours - benign or malignant - that start in the spine.
article_snippet.sent: In many cases, a growth on the spine will be a benign notochordal tumour.
article_snippet.sent: this's estimated that 14 per cent of people have this kind of benign tumour on people spine and, in most, these are harmless.
article_snippet.sent: Much more rarely, spinal tumours are malignant.
article_snippet.sent: Cancer cells often go to the bones with the greatest blood supply, which includes the spine.
article_snippet.sent: Less commonly, the problem is a malignant tumour called a chordoma that originates in the spine.
article_snippet.sent: Chordomas can occur anywhere along the spine, and the later symptoms such as back pain, numbness, aching and tingling can be mistaken for more minor strains or disc problems.