Extramedullary melanotic schwannoma recurrence in the cervical vertebral arch: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Melanotic schwannoma (MS), a slowly growing nerve sheath tumor, is not a purely benign tumor. MS accounts for less than 1% of all nerve sheath tumors. We herein describe a rare case of MS and present a literature review focusing on the treatment of this disease. Twelve years before presentation at our hospital, a 41-year-old woman was examined because of an 8-month history of neck pain and 6-month history of upper extremity numbness and weakness. She underwent surgery to remove a tumor, and the pathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of MS. Twelve years later, at 53 years of age, the patient presented to our hospital with a 2-year history of neck pain and upper extremity numbness and weakness. Posterior cervical tumor resection was performed along with posterior cervical laminectomy, decompression and intraspinal space-occupying internal fixation, and radiotherapy. MS recurrence was confirmed. No tumor recurrence or metastasis was found after 7 months of follow-up. Recurrence of MS is rare, and its diagnosis depends on pathological features. Radical excision is the primary treatment for MS. Incomplete resection of MS is a risk factor for postoperative recurrence and metastasis. Furthermore, postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy should be performed to prevent recurrence and metastasis of MS.

Hemorrhagic spinal melanotic schwannoma presenting as acute chest pain: A case report and literature review

“…The use of chemotherapy in MS has not been thoroughly studied. Because of the potential for malignant transformation to occur more than 10 years after resection,[ 27 ] patients should undergo long-term monitoring with serial imaging.…”

Replantation of Spinous Process-lamina Complex in the Treatment of Cervical Spine Tumor : Two Cases Report and Literature Review

“…Epidemiology of spinal Intraspinal tumor is a common spinal disease, Upper cervical intraspinal tumors are rare, and few cases exist in the clinical literature. According to statistics, upper cervical spinal tumors account for18.0% to 39.5% of all cervical intraspinal tumors and only 5.0% to 14.4% of all intraspinal tumors [2] .Neurilemmoma are the most common primary intraspinal tumor, accounting for 30% of primary spinal neoplasm and frequently observed in the cervical and lumbar regions [2][3] .…”

“…Differential diagnoses of cervical Neurilemmoma include giant cell tumor, aneurysmal bone cyst, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, vertebral hemangioma, chordoma, malignant lymphoma, metastatic embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma, and bacterial infection [3] .…”