[Malignant schwannoma of the trachea]

Abstract

Malignant schwannoma of the trachea is a rarity among the infrequent neurogenic tumours of the cervical region. Only individual cases have been described in the literature to date. A 30-year-old patient came to us with acute dyspnoea. A bronchoscopy showed a polypoid-stemmed tumour, which was removed using a loop. Histologically, it was a malignant neurogenic tumour of a low-grade schwannoma nature. A tracheal segment resection was carried out to remove the tumour completely. Six years after the operation, the patient was still recurrence-free. The prognosis depends on whether a high or low grade malignant schwannoma is present. The histological grading of the neurogenic peripheral neurilemmoma is made depending on a number of histological parameters and is often rather difficult. Specialists agree that only the radical surgical removal of the tumour might lead to patient's recovery. Adjuvant measures like chemo- or radiotherapy do not significantly prolong the life expectancy.