title: Malignant vagal paraganglioma.
abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss a new case of malignant vagal paraganglioma. A 38-year-old woman was referred for the assessment of a bilateral firm cervical mass. CT scans revealed a left cervical ovoid mass; contralaterally, a mass with a similar enhancement could be observed too. The tumor was surgically removed via a transcervical surgical approach, together with levels I to III lymph nodes. Definitive histopathological examination proved the diagnosis of malignant vagal paraganglioma with contralateral cervical lymph node metastasis. One year after surgery, a PET-CT and a scintigraphy revealed the presence of a cervical recurrence and hepatic metastasis. Three months after a second surgical intervention, the patient died. Malignant vagal paraganglioma is a rare and challenging lesion that has to be carefully assessed to plan an appropriate treatment. A strict follow-up is fundamental for an early diagnosis of eventual recurrences.
authors.affiliation: From the Division of Otolaryngology, Maxillofacial Surgery and Dentistry, Aosta Hospital, Aosta, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Righi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boffano
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Malvè
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pateras
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chiodo
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003390:Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D010236:Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D020421:Vagus Nerve Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*