Gastric Schwannoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Gastric schwannomas (GS) are very rare spindle cell, submucosal mesenchymal tumors that arise from Schwann cells of nerve plexuses in the stomach wall. They are usually benign but can become malignant and metastasize to other organs. Surgical resection with biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis and management of GS. In this article, we present a 68-year-old female patient who presented with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and belching for a couple of months. Upon further evaluation, she was found to have a 4.2 cm gastric mass, which was consistent with gastric schwannoma through biopsy and immunohistochemistry. The patient underwent complete surgical resection of the tumor without any complications. In this article, we will discuss the literature about GS including its clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management options.

Gastric schwannoma: Two case reports and review of the literature

“…GS usually arise as solitary lesions in the submucosa or muscularis propria of the gastric wall and are most frequent in the stomach body (50%), followed by the antrum (32%) and fundus (18%) [5] . They may have an endophytic or exophytic growth pattern or a combination of both [ 6 , 7 ].…”

“…Although there are no specific data for GS, in the universe of gastrointestinal schwannomas, malignancy occurs in only 2% of cases. With complete surgical excision, they have an excellent prognosis, and, as far as we know, there are no reported cases of recurrence of benign GS [ 5 , 6 , 8 , 10 , 13 ].…”

“…Gastric schwannomas (GS) are even rarer, accounting for only 0.2% of all gastric tumors. They consist of excessive proliferation of Schwann cells from the nerve bundles of Auerbach's plexus or, less commonly, Meissner's plexus [ 4 , 5 ].…”