Carotid body paraganglioma with metastases.

The diagnosis of a carotid body paraganglioma with metastases led us to a critical review of the literature of 106 cases with metastasis reported between 1893 and 1980. The percentage of tumors with metastasis is in the order of 11.5% to 13%. There is no proven histological criterion from which to assert or infer their malignancy.