Gastric glomus tumor: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Glomus tumors are usually thought of as benign tumors although some malignant cases have been reported. These tumors arise from the glomus body and are commonly observed in the dermis or subcutis, but rarely in visceral organs. Here, we report a 37-year-old female who initially presented with epigastric discomfort. The preoperative diagnosis was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. A minilaparotomy was done with an incision length of 4 cm followed by wedge resection. The final pathologic diagnosis was a gastric glomus tumor. We have reviewed the only five cases of gastric glomus tumors that have been reported to date in Taiwan, including the present case, and compare these cases with those reported in other countries. The age of onset ranged from 35 to 69 years (median, 41 years) with female dominance (4 females and 1 male). Two of the five cases presented with gastrointestinal bleeding with an ulcerative tumor, and the others only had epigastric discomfort. The tumors were located around the prepyloric antrum of the stomach. No definite diagnosis was reached before surgery in any of the five cases, and all of the tumors were considered likely to be benign lesions. Clinicians who treat such patients should be aware of this problem because of the difficulty in accurate preoperative diagnosis.