An unusual presentation of a rare benign tumor in the head and neck: A review of hibernomas

Abstract

Hibernomas are rare benign tumors that may present in the head and neck in an unusual manner similar to more common malignant tumors such as lymphoma. Our case report describes several characteristics of a patient and benign tumor presentation that is atypical for the usual presentation of hibernomas as reviewed in the literature. Although hibernomas are rare, our report and review of the literature highlights a particular patient population and important key findings that should make one consider these benign tumors in the differential diagnosis of a young patient presenting with a neck mass.

Large hibernoma of the neck: A case report

“…In suspected cases of a hibernoma with inconclusive radiological findings, a fine-needle aspiration cytology is recommended. A core needle biopsy carries a risk of excessive hemorrhage due to hypervascularity of the tumor and should be avoided, although there are numerous reports considering series of patients with hibernoma that underwent percutaneous biopsy without any complications [11][12][13][14] .…”

“…In another case of the neck hibernoma, focal infiltration of scalene muscles was not considered as a sign of malignancy, but muscular adherence by the benign tumor? 13 .…”

Hibernoma: a rare case of adipocytic tumor in head and neck.

“…Since the first case described in 1906 [ 5 ], approximately ten cases of cervical hibernoma have been reported [ 6 ]. Among these, only three patients had hibernoma in the posterior cervical triangle but it seems highly probable that the diagnosis is widely underestimated [ 7 , 8 ].…”

“…Yet, it is important to make the difference between lipoma and hibernoma since, to date, no case of malignant transformation of hibernoma has been reported, which is not the case of lipoma. From an epidemiological standpoint, hibernoma is mostly seen in the third, fourth and fifth decades of life with a slightly higher female prevalence [ 6 , 10 ].…”

“…In our patient, the rapid growth and the related pain are uncommon manifestations and prompted us to quickly carry out additional examinations to exclude malignancy. To the best of our knowledge, only one reported case was characterized by similar clinical findings [ 6 ]. Among the complementary examinations, computed tomography (CT), MRI, and angiography can provide additional usefulness informations.…”