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Review
. 2017 Oct 16;5(10):373-377.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v5.i10.373.

Adrenal ganglioneuroma: What you need to know

Affiliations
Review

Adrenal ganglioneuroma: What you need to know

Konstantinos S Mylonas et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Adrenal ganglioneuromas (GNs) constitute rare, differentiated tumors which originate from neural crest cells. GNs are usually hormonally silent and tend to be discovered incidentally on imaging tests. Adrenalectomy is the gold standard for the treatment of primary adrenal GNs. Nevertheless, preoperative differential diagnosis of GNs remains extremely challenging, and thus histopathological examination is required in order to confirm the diagnosis of GN. Overall, prognosis after surgical resection seems to be excellent, without any recurrences or need for adjuvant therapy.

Keywords: Adrenalectomy; Ganglioneuroma; Neural crest; Neurogenic tumors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Axial computed tomography of left adrenal ganglioneuroma: Well-defined, solid, encapsulated mass (in intravenous contrast). A: Non-enhanced image; B: Enhanced image (venous phase).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Coronal magnetic resonance imaging of left adrenal ganglioneuroma: A coronal T1-weighted out-of-phase image shows intracellular lipid and no signal loss within the lesion.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Histopathologic features of adrenal ganglioneuromas. A: Margin between adrenocortical parenchyma and adrenal ganglioneuroma with Schwann cells in adipose stroma (H and E × 100); B: Schwann cells in adipose stroma (H and E × 400); C: Schwann and ganglion cells in non-adipose stroma (H and E × 200); D: Schwann cells and multiple ganglion cells (H and E × 200); E: Protein S100 (+) Schwann cells (immunostaining × 400); F: Neuron-specific enolase (+) ganglion cells (immunostaining × 200). H and E: Hematoxylin and eosin.

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