Glomus Tumors: A Systematic Review of the Sub-Saharan Africa Experience

Abstract

Background: Glomus tumors are rare benign tumors that were first described in 1812 by Wood. They arise from normal glomus apparatus, usually located in the reticular dermis of the body. Although glomus tumors are universal in occurrence, the sub-Saharan Africa experience has not been well documented.

Methods: The authors performed a systematic literature review of eligible studies between 1960 and August 2023, using the terms "glomus," "tumor," "glomangioma," "glomangiomyoma," and "Africa." We also performed a search of the AIC Kijabe Hospital pathology department database of about 140,000 records, covering 30 years, for the terms "glomus tumor," "glomangioma" and "glomangiomyoma."

Results: The systematic literature search and institutional database search produced a total of 74 patients who had glomus tumors. These patients had a lag of between 3 months and 20 years from symptom development to definitive treatment.

Conclusions: There are very few reports of glomus tumors from sub-Saharan Africa in the current literature: the authors' histopathology database of 140,000 specimens had 46 glomus tumors (0.03%), and only 28 additional patients were found in literature from sub-Saharan Africa. The low numbers of African patients may indicate racial differences in the occurrence of glomus tumors, although this may also be due to failure of clinicians to recognize glomus tumors. The prolonged lag period between symptom development and definitive treatment for glomus tumors indicates the need for diligence in the diagnosis and treatment of a simple problem that is otherwise the cause of incapacitating pain and misery.

Fig. 1.

PRISMA flow diagram for systematic literature search.

Fig. 2.

Plain radiograph of a subungal glomus tumor showing scalloped distal phalanx.

Fig. 3.

Ultrasound picture of a glomus tumor in the anterior aspect of the distal leg. White arrow is pointing at glomus tumor.

Fig. 4.

Left wrist glomus tumor. A, MRI of a glomus tumor in the volar aspect of the wrist. Black arrow is pointing at glomus tumor. B, Clinical picture of the wrist glomus tumor.

Fig. 5.

Surgical management of a subungal glomus tumor. A, Subungal glomus tumor. Nail removed to expose glomus tumor growing beneath nail bed. B, Three weeks after excision of glomus tumor. The sutures have been removed, and the patient is now fully recovered and using hand for activities of daily living.