Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Skull Base Surgery logoLink to Skull Base Surgery
. 1994 Oct;4(4):227–231. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1058959

Malignant Vestibular Schwannoma

B Gruber, L Petchenik, M Williams, C Thomas, MG Luken
PMCID: PMC1661805  PMID: 17171176

Abstract

A 61-year-old woman underwent a translabyrinthine resection of a right intracanulicular acoustic neuroma, which had been detected in the work-up of sudden hearing loss. At the time of surgery, the tumor was roughly twice as large as indicated by the magnetic resonance scan taken only 2 months previously. The tumor eroded the vertical and transverse crests and extended well into the cerebellopontine angle. It was impossible to distinguish the facial nerve proximal to the geniculate ganglion. All visible tumor was resected, along with the facial nerve. Histological evaluation showed a highly cellular tumor, with many mitoses and areas of necrosis, meeting the criteria for malignant schwannoma. The patient has no stigmata of neurofibromatosis, and has no known relatives with that condition. This case is only the fourth reported of a malignant vestibular schwannoma. The relationships between vestibular schwannoma, neurofibromatosis, and malignancy are discussed.

Full text

PDF
227

Images in this article

228Figure 2
on p.228
229Figure 3
on p.229
230Figure 4
on p.230
230Figure 5
on p.230
230Figure 6
on p.230

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bailet J. W., Abemayor E., Andrews J. C., Rowland J. P., Fu Y. S., Dawson D. E. Malignant nerve sheath tumors of the head and neck: a combined experience from two university hospitals. Laryngoscope. 1991 Oct;101(10):1044–1049. doi: 10.1288/00005537-199110000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Gardner G., Moretz W. H., Jr, Robertson J. H., Clark C., Shea J. J., Jr Nonsurgical management of small and intracanalicular acoustic tumors. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1986 Mar;94(3):328–333. doi: 10.1177/019459988609400312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Greager J. A., Reichard K. W., Campana J. P., DasGupta T. K. Malignant schwannoma of the head and neck. Am J Surg. 1992 Apr;163(4):440–442. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(92)90050-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Gullane P. J., Gilbert R. W., van Nostrand A. W., Slinger R. P. Malignant schwannoma in the head and neck. J Otolaryngol. 1985 Jun;14(3):171–175. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hernanz-Schulman M., Welch K., Strand R., Ordia J. I. Acoustic neuromas in children. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 1986 May-Jun;7(3):519–521. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. House J. W., Nissen R. L., Hitselberger W. E. Acoustic tumor management in senior citizens. Laryngoscope. 1987 Feb;97(2):129–130. doi: 10.1288/00005537-198702000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kudo M., Matsumoto M., Terao H. Malignant nerve sheath tumor of acoustic nerve. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1983 Jun;107(6):293–297. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lanser M. J., Sussman S. A., Frazer K. Epidemiology, pathogenesis, and genetics of acoustic tumors. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 1992 Jun;25(3):499–520. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lesser T. H., Janzer R. C., Kleihues P., Fisch U. Clinical growth rate of acoustic schwannomas: correlation with the growth fraction as defined by the monoclonal antibody ki-67. Skull Base Surg. 1991;1(1):11–15. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1056973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Luetje C. M., Whittaker C. K., Davidson K. C., Vergara G. G. Spontaneous acoustic tumor involution: a case report. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1988 Jan;98(1):95–97. doi: 10.1177/019459988809800118. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McLean C. A., Laidlaw J. D., Brownbill D. S., Gonzales M. F. Recurrence of acoustic neurilemoma as a malignant spindle-cell neoplasm. Case report. J Neurosurg. 1990 Dec;73(6):946–950. doi: 10.3171/jns.1990.73.6.0946. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Nedzelski J. M., Canter R. J., Kassel E. E., Rowed D. W., Tator C. H. Is no treatment good treatment in the management of acoustic neuromas in the elderly? Laryngoscope. 1986 Aug;96(8):825–829. doi: 10.1002/lary.1986.96.8.825. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Redleaf M. I., McCabe B. F. Disappearing recurrent acoustic neuroma in an elderly woman. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1993 Jul;102(7):518–520. doi: 10.1177/000348949310200705. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Robertson I., Cook M. G., Wilson D. F., Henderson D. W. Malignant Schwannoma of cranial nerves. Pathology. 1983 Oct;15(4):421–429. doi: 10.3109/00313028309085169. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Selesnick S. H., Jackler R. K. Clinical manifestations and audiologic diagnosis of acoustic neuromas. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 1992 Jun;25(3):521–551. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Shelton C., Hitselberger W. E. The treatment of small acoustic tumors: now or later? Laryngoscope. 1991 Sep;101(9):925–928. doi: 10.1288/00005537-199109000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Silverstein H., McDaniel A., Norrell H., Wazen J. Conservative management of acoustic neuroma in the elderly patient. Laryngoscope. 1985 Jul;95(7 Pt 1):766–770. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wazen J., Silverstein H., Norrell H., Besse B. Preoperative and postoperative growth rates in acoustic neuromas documented with CT scanning. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1985 Apr;93(2):151–155. doi: 10.1177/019459988509300204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Woodruff J. M., Godwin T. A., Erlandson R. A., Susin M., Martini N. Cellular schwannoma: a variety of schwannoma sometimes mistaken for a malignant tumor. Am J Surg Pathol. 1981 Dec;5(8):733–744. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Skull base surgery are provided here courtesy of Thieme Medical Publishers

RESOURCES