Spinal paragangliomas

Abstract

Paragangliomas are neuro-endocrine tumors originating from the adrenal gland. They are usually benign and nonfunctioning, rarely seen in central nervous system. More than 90% of central nervous system paragangliomas are manifested as carotid and glomus jugulare tumors. Spinal paragangliomas are quite rare.The study was conducted through retrospective analysis of the files of the patients who had undergone surgery with pre-diagnosis of spinal intradural tumor between 2011 and 2017 and diagnosed with paraganglioma.A total of 8 patients (4 females and 4 males) were included in the study. Mean age of the patients was 51.1 years (28–64). Time to admission was mean 6.5 months (3 weeks–24 months). Recurrence was not observed in 7 patients, 1 patient is being followed up due to residual tumor.Treatment may be achieved through recognizing malignant transformation in patients who were not diagnosed histopathologically. We consider that quality of life of the patients may be improved through this way.

Cauda equina neuroendocrine tumors: A single institutional imaging review of cases over two decades

“…The primary treatment for CE-NETs is complete surgical removal of the tumor, as it is well-contained. 15,24 This was the case in all of our patients who underwent gross total resection. The prognosis is generally good for CE-NETs after total surgical resection, with a low local recurrence rate.…”

“…Currently, the diagnosis of CE-NET relies on histopathological findings, as specific clinical and radiological features are lacking. 15 Herein, we present our institutional experience on the imaging of CE-NETs on multi-modality cross-sectional imaging.…”

How to avoid intraoperative complications of active paragangliomas?

“…As symptoms of paragangliomas are mostly non-specific the diagnosis is often delayed for years. [ 12 ]…”

“…Diagnosis for intradural lesions is based on MRI. As imaging findings are non-specific,[ 12 ] a wide range of other space-occupying lesions need to be taken into consideration for differential diagnosis, such as ependymoma, meningioma, single metastasis, or schwannoma. On MRI-T1-weighted images, PGs appear isointense to the spinal cord, while hyperintense on T2-weighted images shows contrast enhancement with gadolinium.…”