Incidental ganglioneuromas: a presentation of 14 surgical cases and literature review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ganglioneuromas are benign tumors which originate from the neural crest. This tumor affects mainly young patients rather than adult ones, and its most frequent localizations are mediastinum, retroperitoneum, adrenal glands and cervical region. Usually, ganglioneuromas are discovered as incidentalomas since they are often asymptomatic, even if they could present sympathetic or mass-related symptoms. To obtain a definitive diagnosis, histological exam is necessary since CT scan and MRI are not capable of distinguishing ganglioneuromas from other tumors, such as neuroblastomas or pheocromocytomas. The surgical excision is the chosen treatment and it offers an excellent prognosis.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of our cases of ganglioneuroma from 2004 to 2014; this study aims to compare our experience with literature review (2000-2014). Data about patients' features, tumor localization, symptoms, treatment and follow-up were analyzed and reported in detailed tables.

RESULTS

Between 2004 and 2014 we treated 14 patients affected by ganglioneuroma. For all of them the diagnosis was incidental; 9 out of 12 (64.3 %) patients presented an adrenal mass; in 2 patients (14.3 %) the tumor was localized in cervical region; in other 2 patients (14.3 %) the tumor was in the retroperitoneum and one patient (7.1 %) presented a ganglioneuroma in the costo-vertebral space. All our patients underwent surgical removal and none of them present surgery-related complications or recurrences to date.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data widen the knowledge about ganglioneuroma and confirm that the surgical approach has an excellent prognosis with very low incidence of surgery-related complications and recurrences.