Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN) Practice Exam

How is chemotherapy for primary spinal cord tumors classified?

1. Standard treatment

2. Experimental

3. Not recommended

4. Effective and proven

The correct answer is: Experimental

Chemotherapy for primary spinal cord tumors is generally classified as experimental. This classification stems from the fact that, unlike other cancers, spinal cord tumors are less common and research into effective chemotherapy regimens for these types of tumors is still ongoing. The majority of primary spinal cord tumors, such as gliomas and ependymomas, may not widely respond to chemotherapy, and due to the limited evidence of its effectiveness, many treatment protocols still rely heavily on surgical resection and radiation therapy. As a result, the use of chemotherapy is not yet established as a standard treatment, which is why it's primarily viewed as an experimental approach in this context. Options such as standard treatment, not recommended, or effective and proven do not accurately reflect the current status of chemotherapy for these tumors since there isn't enough wide-ranging efficacy data to categorize it as a routine or recommended treatment for primary spinal cord tumors.