title: Malignant nerve sheath tumors of the head and neck: four case studies and review of the literature.
abstract: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) are very uncommon neoplasms. While the incidence of these lesions is estimated to be 0.001% in a general population, they make up 5-15% of all soft tissue sarcomas in the head and neck region. We present four cases of MPNST in the head and neck. Since certain difficulties were encountered in diagnosis, the importance of clinical evaluation is emphasized. The prognosis for these tumor patients is poor in spite of improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Turku University Central Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hujala
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martikainen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Minn
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grénman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018317:Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D010524:Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed