Liver schwannoma incidentally discovered in a patient with breast cancer.
BACKGROUND
Benign schwannomas, also referred to as neurilemomas, neurinomas, and perineural fibroblastomas, are encapsulated nerve sheath tumors. Primary schwannomas of the liver are extremely rare. We present a case of liver schwannoma, incidentally found in a patient with breast cancer.


METHODS
A 66-year-old female consulted her physician for a mass she palpated on her left breast. The abdominal ultrasonography (USG) revealed a 44 x 28 mm mass in the medial segment of the left lobe of her liver suspicious of a metastasis. An USG-guided biopsy was performed and the histo-pathological examination revealed a "peripheral nerve sheath tumor". Positron emission tomography (PET-CT) revealed a pathologic FDG uptake in the lesion that was previously defined in the liver. The tumor resected from the liver was 5 x 4 x 3 cm, yellowish, soft, and capsulated tumor. Microscopic examination revealed that the mass consisted of bundles of spindle cells with hypercellular and hypocellular areas. In immunohistochemistry, there was a strong positive staining for S-100. The tumor was diagnosed as benign liver schwannoma.


CONCLUSIONS
Schwannomas are benign, encapsulated neoplasms. Symptoms and signs vary depending on the anatomical site and the size of the neoplasm; however, most schwannomas present as an asymptomatic or painless mass. Recurrence is unusual, despite of an incomplete removal, and malignant transformation is exceedingly rare (Fig. 4, Ref. 8). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.
Akin
Murat
M
Gazi University Medical School, Department of General Surgery, Ankara, Turkey. makin@gazi.edu.tr
Bozkirli
Bahadir
B
Leventoglu
Sezai
S
Unal
Kemal
K
Kapucu
L Ozlem
LO
Akyurek
Nalan
N
Sare
Mustafa
M
D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology