Schwannomas of the head and neck: a case series

Abstract

Schwannomas are relatively slow growing benign tumors of the nerve sheath with a well developed capsule. They can reach a considerable size. Typically, symptoms of schwannomas are based on the affected nerve. We present four cases of this tumor that occurred in the head and neck. The differential diagnosis of small painless nodules in head and neck must include schwannomas as it is likely that nerve sheath neoplasms are more common than previously reported. However, due to benign nature and low recurrence prognosis is excellent.

Neurilemmoma of the Hard Palate: Report of a Case and Review of Literature

“…Approximately one-third of all neurilemmomas occur in the head and neck region but they are rarely found in the oral cavity (1%). [2][3][4][5] Within the oral cavity, the neurilemmomas occur most frequently in the tongue. 12 Other less frequent locations are the buccal mucosa, palate, base of mouth, gingiva and lips.…”

“…12 Other less frequent locations are the buccal mucosa, palate, base of mouth, gingiva and lips. [3][4][5] Leu and Chang reviewed a series of 52 cases of schwannomas of the head and neck region. Seven of these cases were located in the oral cavity.…”

“…15 Clinically, these benign tumors are easily mistaken for other entities, such as lipoma and pleomorphic adenoma on account of their slow growth and absence of neural symptoms and also to mucous retention cyst, minor salivary gland tumors, palatal abscess, fibroma, lymphoma and squamous cell carcinoma on account of their site of occurrence. [4][5][6][7] Histologically, the characteristic features of a neurilemmomas are encapsulation and dimorphic growth pattern composed of Antoni A and B areas (Fig. 2).…”

“…Other less frequent locations are the buccal mucosa, palate, base of mouth, gingiva and lips. [2][3][4][5] The typical tumor is solitary, slow growing occurring in a middle aged adult.…”

Tongue Base Schwannoma : A Rare Entity

“…Schwannomas in head and neck region constitute about 25% with intraoral schwannomas being less than one percent of these. [3,4,5,6] Only 16 cases of tongue base schwannomas are reported in literature till now.…”