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Review
. 2013 Apr;33(2):137-40.

Lingual schwannoma: case report and review of the literature

R B Lira  1 , J Gonçalves Filho, G B Carvalho, C A Pinto, L P Kowalski
Affiliations
Review

Lingual schwannoma: case report and review of the literature

R B Lira et al. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2013 Apr.

Abstract
in English, Italian

Schwannomas are benign, encapsulated, slow-growing and usually solitary tumours originating from Schwann cells of the peripheral nerve sheath. Approximately 25-40% of cases are seen in the head and neck region, of which 1% in the oral cavity. We report a rare case of lingual schwannoma in a young woman who was treated with complete transoral excision, and also review the literature of the past two decades, analyzing epidemiological and clinical data of the 35 cases reported. Lingual schwannomas generally present as a painless lump with an average size of 2 cm in the fourth decade of life and with no gender predilection. Complete transoral excision can be considered standard treatment for these tumours, with no recurrences documented in the literature.

Gli schwannomi sono tumori benigni solitari, incapsulati e a lenta crescita che originano dalle cellule di Schwann presenti nella guaina dei nervi periferici. Circa il 25-40% dei casi sono osservati nella regione testa-collo, di cui l'1% nella cavità orale. Gli schwannomi linguali si presentano generalmente nella quarta decade di vita, senza predilezione di genere, come nodulo solitario e indolore con dimensione media di circa 2 cm. Il trattamento d'elezione riportato in letteratura è l'asportazione chirurgica, infatti, l'escissione transorale di questo tipo di lesione è radicale e non si documentano casi di recidiva locale. Presentiamo un caso raro di schwannoma linguale in una giovane donna trattata chirurgicamente con completa asportazione trans-orale della lesione e revisione completa della letteratura degli ultimi 20 anni che riporta un totale di 35 casi.

Keywords: Head and neck schwannoma; Oral schwannoma; Oral tumour.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Parasagital T2-weighted MRI showing a well-delimited nodule with a heterogeneous high signal.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Gross examination of the excised tumour showing a 2.5 × 2.0 cm capsulated, smooth and tender nodule.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Verocay bodies (A) between palisading nuclei (B) of an Antoni A area.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Immunohistochemistry showing positive staining for S-100 protein.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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