Carotid Body Tumor, an Experience with 100 Patients, a Brief Report

Abstract

&aragangliomas are tumors that may located within intra or extra-adrenal regions .The histologic pattern of paragangliomas known as Zellbellen pattern consists of cell nests that are cinctured with fibro vascular tissue. The exact cause of formation of carotid body tumors has not been recognized but according to the higher incidence of these tumors in high altitude areas it seems that hypoxia may have a role in activating the chemoreceptors and also tumor organization. Another cause of chronic hypoxia is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which may relate to carotid body tumor. Although the various diagnostic methods, the diagnosis is delayed because the most numbers of these tumors are asymptomatic. Material and Method PIntroduction: Carotid body tumors are rare tumors of the head and neck that arise from a chemical receptor organ with unknown underlying cause. But it seems that living at high altitudes can increase the incidence of these tumors. Materials and Methods:This research was the result of a study on a series of recorded cases of carotid body tumors. Recorded data from 100 patients with carotid body tumors were collected between 2014 and 2016. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software and quality and percentage data were reported for quality data and mean and standard deviation for quantitative data.Results: In this study, the mean age of the total affected population (24 12.24) was 51.74. The prevalence of carotid body tumors was higher in women than men (78% vs. 22%). Also, carotid body tumors were mostly unilateral (90% vs. 10%) and the frequency of tumors on the right was higher than on the left (51% vs. 37%). All patients in our study underwent surgical resection and the overall survival was 100%. Conclusion:Carotid body tumors are rare and almost asymptomatic tumors in the head and neck that are mainly seen in non-smokers with a mean age of 51 years. Surgery is one of the treatment options for these tumors. But radiotherapy may also be used as an alternative method.