Weekly Chest CasesArchive of Old Cases

Case No : 402 Date 2005-07-11

  • Courtesy of Kyung-Min Shin M.D., Duk-Sik Kang M.D. / Kyung-Min Shin M.D., Duk-Sik Kang M.D.
  • Age/Sex 47 / M
  • Chief ComplaintIncidentally detected chest X-ray abnormality
  • Figure 1
  • Figure 2
  • Figure 3
  • Figure 4
  • Figure 5
  • Figure 6

Diagnosis With Brief Discussion

Diagnosis
Neurilemmoma (Sympathetic nerve origin)
Radiologic Findings
Posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs show right paratracheal mass with sharply demarcated margin. Contrast-enhanced CT scan shows a well-defined round mass with homogenous low attenuation and thick rim. Dense calcifications are also seen in the periphery of the mass. Specimen photograph of resected specimen shows well-demarcated cystic mass.
Brief Review
Neurilemmomas (Schwannomas) are solitary, encapsulated tumors and consist of a population of Schwann cell, with variable amount of reticulin fiber, but do not contain nerve tissue or collagen fiber. Tumors usually consist of two different components,: a highly ordered cellular component (Antoni type A tissue) and a loose myxoid component (Antoni type B tissue). They are usually found in the posterior mediastinum, usually originated from sympathetic nervous system or intercostal nerve.

At CT, a neurilemmoma appears as a well-demarcated round or oval mass that frequently demonstrates prominent cystic degeneration and calcification. At contrast-enhanced CT, neurilemmomas demonstrate variable homogenous or heterogenous enhancement. Attenuation of the tumors on enhanced CT depends on the extent of Antoni A or B tissue and the amount of myxoid or cystic degeneration or hemorrhage.
References
1. Lee JY, Lee KS, Han JH, et al. Spectrum of neurogenic tumors in the thorax: CT and pathologic findings. JCAT 1999;23:399-406.

2. Cohen LM, Schwartz AM, Rockoff SD. Benign schwannomas: pathologic basis for CT inhomogeneities. AJR 1986;147:141-143.
Keywords
Mediastinum, Benign tumor,

No. of Applicants : 26

▶ Correct Answer : 19/26,  73.1%
  • - SSGH, Vadodara, Gujarat, India Sushil Mansingani
  • - Yonsei University Hospital, Korea Eun Hye Yoo
  • - Saint Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan Sokun Fuwa
  • - Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea Yo Won Choi
  • - Hangang SacredHeart Hospital, Korea Eil Seong Lee
  • - Ewha Womans University Hospital, Korea Shim Sung Shine
  • - Daejon Saint Mary's Hospital, Korea Chae Hun Lim
  • - Max Hospital, New Delhi, India Vickrant Malhotra
  • - Cabinet de Radiologie Guiton, La Rochelle, France Jean-Luc Bigot
  • - --- Ram Prakash Galwa
  • - Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Korea Yookyung Kim
  • - Annemasse, Polyclinique de Savoie, France Gay-Depassier
  • - Social Security Hospital, Ankara, Turkey Meric Tuzun
  • - Radiologie Guiton, La Rochelle, France Denis Chabassiere
  • - Incheon Sarang Hospital, Incheon, Korea Jung Hee Kim
  • - Annecy Hospital, France Gilles Genin
  • - ASL Bologna, Maggiore Hospital, Bologna, Italy Marcellino Burzi
  • - Homs National Hospital, Homs, Syria Rami Abou Zalaf
  • - Ping Tung Christian Hospital,Taiwan Jun-Jun Yeh
▶ Semi-Correct Answer : 2/26,  7.7%
  • - Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy Gaetano Rea
  • - Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey Cetin Celenk
  • Top
  • Back

Each Case of This Site Supplied by the Members of KSTR.
Copyright of the Images is in the KSTR and Original Supplier.
Current Editor : Sang Young Oh, M.D., Ph.D Email : sangyoung.oh@gmail.com

This website is optimized for IE 10 and above.