What is a ganglioneuroma tumor?
Ganglioneuromas are rare tumors that most often start in autonomic nerve cells. Autonomic nerves manage body functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, bowel and bladder emptying, and digestion. The tumors are usually noncancerous (benign). Ganglioneuromas usually occur in people over 10 years of age.
Can ganglioneuroma turn into neuroblastoma?
Despite these facts, an association of ganglioneuroma and neuroblastoma appears to be existing. A metachronous occurence of ganglioneuroma and neuroblastoma is described in literature and the possibility of maturation of a maligant neuroblastoma to a benign ganglioneuroma is strongly suspected [3].
Is a ganglioneuroma a paraganglioma?
Tumors that arise from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla are called pheochromocytomas, whereas those that occur in paraganglia at other sites are referred to as paragangliomas [9]. Ganglioneuroma is a benign neoplasm composed of Schwann cells and ganglion cells.
Are ganglioneuroma malignant?
Prognosis. Most ganglioneuromas are noncancerous, thus expected outcome is usually good. However, a ganglioneuroma may become cancerous and spread to other areas, or it may regrow after removal.
How common is a Ganglioneuroma?
Ganglioneuroma is a rare and benign tumor of the autonomic nerve fibers arising from neural crest sympathogonia, which are completely undifferentiated cells of the sympathetic nervous system. However, ganglioneuromas themselves are fully differentiated neuronal tumors that do not contain immature elements.
What is the difference between neuroneuroblastoma and ganglioneuroma?
Neuroblastoma and ganglioneuroblastoma most often occur in infants and children, whereas ganglioneuroma tends to occur in adolescents and young adults (, 1 –, 3 ). Ganglioneuromas are rare, benign neurogenic tumors that arise from sympathetic ganglia.
What is the prevalence of abdominal ganglioneuroma?
In a series of 46 patients with abdominal ganglioneuroma, the tumor was located in the extraadrenal retroperitoneum in 27 patients (59%) and in the adrenal gland in 19 patients (41%) (, 3 ). Patients of all ages are affected, predominantly children and young adults (42%–60% of cases) (, 6,, 8,, 9 ).
What does retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma look like on CT?
At CT or MR imaging, retroperitoneal or adrenal ganglioneuromas appear as well-circum-scribed oval, crescentic, or lobulated masses. Interestingly, these tumors tend to partially or completely surround major blood vessels, with little or no compromise of the lumen (, Fig 1) (, 7,, 8,, 10).
