title: [The difficulty of distinguishing retroperitoneal schwannoma from liver tumor in the caudate lobe].
abstract: A 68-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for the evaluation of an abdominal tumor. Both ultrasonography and computerized tomography revealed a mass at the caudate lobe of the liver. However, it was difficult to distinguish the mass from a liver tumor in the caudate lobe. The laboratory data showed only a slight elevation of the serum gamma-GTP level and ICG retention. The abdominal arteriography revealed a vascular tumor located in the retroperitoneal space, which was receiving its blood supply from the right inferior phrenic artery. When a laparotomy was performed, a yellowish solid mass (8 X 6 X 4.5 cm) was found behind the lateral segment of the left liver lobe. Histological examination showed interlacing bands of uniform spindle cells of which elongated nuclei were arranged in a palisading pattern. The tumor was diagnosed as schwannoma. Literatures on retroperitoneal schwannoma are reviewed, as this tumor is relatively rare.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsukuma
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taoka
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takeda
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography