Familial Carotid Body Tumors

Carotid body tumor

“…Carotid body tumors may be sporadic or familial. The familial tumors account for about 10% of all carotid body tumors, have an autosomal dominant mode of transmission with variable penetrance, and are characterized by a high incidence of bilateral tumors [8][9][10]. The sporadic form of carotid body paraganglioma is slightly more common in women [2].…”

Sympathetic paraganglioma as an unusual cause of Horner's syndrome

“…6,7 In addition, approximately 10% of patients with a paraganglioma have an inherited form of this tumor, and of these, 25% to 33% have multiple paragangliomas. [8][9][10] In addition to a complete history and physical examination, diagnostic evaluation includes a CT scan to identify the anatomic location and vascularity of the tumor and osseous changes of the skull base and middle temporal bone. MR imaging has advantages over CT in that is better able to characterize the tumor's relationship to surrounding structures (soft tissue resolution) and its overall vascularity.…”

Diagnosis and Treatment of Carotid Body Tumors

“…tion lea ds to the diagn osis. In ag reem en t w ith other authors we state that preoperative arteriography is mandatory whenever the differential diagnosis of a neck mass includes carotid body tumors to determine the exact location, th e size , and th e va sc ula r supply of th e tumor (4,5,7,14) . Biopsy is not re commended because of the h yp erva scula rity and th e pro ximity of th e tu m or to the carotid sheath.…”