Nasopharyngeal chordoma arises from:

Ans. b. NotochordRef: Logan Turners Disease of the Nose, Throat and Ear 11th Ed; Page No- 380 and Ballengers Otorhinolaryngology by John Jacob Ballenger; Page No- 835Nasopharyngeal chordoma are aggressive tumors, which arise from notochord remnant, are found most commonly at the clivus.It is seen primarily in the fifth or sixth decade of life.Fifty percent occurs in the spheno-occipital area with a mean patient age of 40-45 years.They can expand to involve the cerebellopontine angle (CPA).Males and females are approximately equally affected.These tumors are slow growing and the development of symptoms depends on the route of spread.Presenting sign and symptoms include an expanding nasopharyngeal mass, frontal headache, cranial nerve palsies (Sixth nerve involves seen in 60% of patients followed by equally 9th and 10th nerve involvement), and pituitary abnormality.Treatment is by surgical resection and usually requires post-operative radiotherapy, ideally in the form of a proton beam.