Stanford Chordoma Program

The Stanford Chordoma Program is aimed at the integration of care and is led by world-renowned experts in open skull base surgery, endoscopic endonasal surgery, and radiation treatment for skull base chordomas. Our multidisciplinary approach allows for total care, from initial triage through surgical intervention and post-operative radiotherapy. Additionally, our team works closely with the Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, conducting leading-edge genomic and proteomic sequencing. Our primary goal is to provide highly-specialized and personalized care to reduce chordoma tumor recurrence and achieve permanent cure or long-term tumor control.

Meet Our Team

Our team of experts, led by Dr. Juan C. Fernandez-Miranda, a world renowned expert in open skull base and endoscopic endonasal surgery for chordomas, and Dr. Scott G. Soltys, a world authority in the radiation treatment of chordomas, provide a personalized and compassionate approach to caring for chordoma patients. Surgery for skull base chordomas has a steep learning curve and requires a multidisciplinary team with advanced surgical skills and extensive experience. Outcomes, such as resection or complication rates, are intimately associated with the experience of the surgeons. Our surgical team combines the unique expertise of several subspecialties, including skull base neurosurgery (Dr. Fernandez-Miranda), skull base rhinology (Drs. Hwang, Patel and Nayak), lateral skull base/neuro-otology (Dr. Jackler), head and neck reconstructive surgery (Dr. Rosenthal), and oculoplastic surgery (Dr. Kossler).

Innovative Surgical Technique

At Stanford, our primary goal when performing chordoma surgery is maximal and safe resection of the tumor. Supratotal resection, including margins of normal tissue, is desirable as long as surgical complications are kept to a minimum, but only achievable in selected tumors by very experienced surgeons. Our team has greatly contributed to the development and refinement of endoscopic endonasal surgery for skull base chordomas, describing innovative surgical approaches and techniques that increase the safety and efficacy of chordoma surgery. 

Research

Our chordoma experts are also researchers in the field, using the latest technologies to discover the most effective, less invasive, and more personalized treatment options. Our researchers are devising new approaches to study genomic changes in chordoma, to understand chordoma origins and progression, and to determine which altered genes might be developed into drug targets (Learn more at our Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine). Additionally, our new Stanford Surgical Neuroanatomy, Fiber Tractography, and Virtual Reality Research Center's goal is to improve surgical techniques and outcomes through mastery of surgical neuroanatomy, focusing on enhancing understanding of endoscopic skull base anatomy, microsurgical neuroanatomy, white matter dissection and imaging, and virtual reality for surgical planning.