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Chemodectomas (nonchromaffin paragangliomas) of the head and neck. A clinicopathologic study
Author(s) -
Oberman Harold A.,
Holtz Fred,
Sheffer Lee A.,
Magielski John E.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(196805)21:5<838::aid-cncr2820210508>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - chemodectoma , medicine , carotid body , paraganglioma , biopsy , neoplasm , head and neck , radiation therapy , radiology , surgery , pathology , carotid arteries
Forty patients with chemodectomas arising in carotid body, vagal body or glomus jugulare are reported. These tumors pursued a slowly progressive clinical course, resulting in a long interval between onset of symptoms and diagnosis, and an even longer average interval between treatment and onset of recurrent neoplasm. Whereas the sex incidence of carotid body and vagal body tumors was approximately equal, the majority of patients with glomus jugulare tumors were women. The histologic features and anatomic location of these tumors was distinctive; nevertheless, initial biopsy material from one fourth of these patients was misinterpreted. Four of these patients died as a result of their neoplasm; in three patients local extension of chemodectoma proved fatal while metastatic neoplasm resulted in the fourth patient's death. It was not possible to correlate the histologic features of these tumors with their clinical course. Although total excision was the most successful treatment for readily accessible neoplasms, biopsy or partial excision followed by radiation therapy proved almost as effective for tumors which could not be completely resected.