Head and neck schwannomas – a 10 year review

Abstract

Schwannomas of the head and neck are uncommon tumours that arise from any peripheral, cranial or autonomic nerve. Twenty-five to 45 per cent of extracranial schwannomas occur in the head and neck region and thus are usually in the domain of the otolaryngologist. They usually present insidiously and thus are often diagnosed incorrectly or after lengthy delays, however, better imaging and cytological techniques have lessened this to some degree more recently. For benign lesions conservative surgical excision is the treatment of choice bearing in mind possible vagal or sympathetic chain injury. Malignant schwannomas are best treated with wide excision where possible. The role of adjuvant therapy remains uncertain and irrespective of treatment modality prognosis is poor with an overall survival of 15 per cent. However, recent advances in ras oncogene inhibitors may hold hope for the future.

Nasal septal schwannoma

“…[4] Though schwannomas can involve every part of the body, in 25-45% of the cases they are seen on the head and neck region, frequently as acoustic neuromas. [1] Only 4% of the head and neck schwannomas are seen in paranasal sinus, and nose. [2,3] Since optic and olfactory nerves do not contain schwann cells, schwannomas are not encountered on these nerves.…”

“…They can be seen in every part of the body, and observed on the head and neck region in 25-45% of the cases, frequently as acoustic neuromas. [1] Only 4% of the schwannomas of the head and neck region are seen in paranasal sinuses, and nasal cavities. [2,3] Schwannomas are rarely seen on nasal septum, and only 11 cases have been reported in the literature.…”

Schwannoma of the Retropharyngeal Space

“…B e t w e e n 2 5 a n d 4 5 % o f schwannomas occur in the head and neck (Colreavy et al 2000) and the most common sites of origin is cutaneous or muscular branches of the cervical or brachial plexus (Colreavy et al 2000). Less common sites include the oral cavity (Zachariades 1984), nasal cavity (Iwamura et al 1972;Wada et al 2001), paranasal sinus (Younis et al 1991), extra auditory canal (Gross et al 2004), and trachea (Takeda et al 2003).…”

Cervical Vagal Swannoma: A Case Report

“…Cervical vagal schwannomas are rare, slow growing tumours usually reported to occur in patients between thirty and fifty years of age with no sex related predisposition 2,5,[8][9][10][11] .…”