Glomus tumor of the anterior urethra: A rare case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Glomus tumors are rare and benign neoplasms, which normally originate from peripheral soft tissue. To date, reported cases of glomus tumor occurring in genitourinary tract, particularly in the urethra, are exceedingly rare. The present study presented a rare case of glomus tumor of the anterior urethra in a 42 year-old male, his main complaints were a history of anterior urethra pain for 3 years, and a palpable and tender mass in the urethra for 2 weeks. Urethrocystoscopy examination and the resection of the urethral mass were performed. Pathological and immunohistochemical examination revealed that the mass was a benign glomus tumor. The patient remained in good condition by 6 month follow-up, and revealed no problems or recurrence following surgery. This is the first case, to the best of our knowledge, to present a glomus tumor occurring in a male's urethra and the present report provided a supplementary review for the previous cases and the literature.

Glomus tumour of the male urethra: an unusual diagnostic

“…Based on this information, we gather that MRI can be a helpful adjunct to the diagnosis of glomus tumours but is not mandatory in the investigation of tumours found in typical locations. The use of imaging modalities has not been described in the few published cases of periurethral/urethral glomus tumours 10–13. In our case, ultrasound and MRI aided in eliminating a number of possible diagnoses, defining the anatomy and surgical planning.…”

“…Ultrasonography appears to be fairly accurate but is unable to detect small lesions 15. On MRI, glomus tumours usually show low signal intensity on T1W sequences, high signal intensity on T2 sequences, and enhancement on T1 images after gadolinium injection 13 15. However, these findings are not specific for glomus tumours.…”

“…Although glomus tumours in standard locations are usually clinically diagnosed, the definitive diagnosis for tumours in atypical sites is done through histopathology and immunochemistry 13. Histologically, glomus tumours are made up of glomus cells, smooth cells and vessels 16.…”

“…Involvement of the male genitalia is extremely rare with only 11 reported cases in the penis,3–5 3 in the scrotum6–8 and 1 in the testicle 9. Three cases of periurethral glomus tumours in females have been published,10–12 but only one case has been documented in the male urethra 13…”

Transungual resection of subungual glomus tumour

“…They are most commonly localised in the hands. Other locations such as foot,3 hip,4 thigh,5 urethra6 and stomach7 have been reported. They are most commonly seen between the second and fourth decades.…”