Chemodectoma

Abstract: Purpose: To compare the outcome of salvage radiotherapy (RT) and surgery for recurrent head-and-neck chemodectomas. Methods and Materials: We retrospectively studied 70 patients with benign chemodectomas of the head and neck treated with surgery at the Cleveland Clinic between July 1969 and August 1999; 29 of these patients were diagnosed with recurrent tumors. Salvage RT was used in 12 patients (gamma knife radiosurgery for 7, conventional external beam RT for 4, and intensity-modulated RT for 1 patient). The median follow-up was 55 months for the entire group of 70 patients. Results: The median time to recurrence was 36 months. Of the recurrences, 16 were glomus jugulare, 7 were carotid body tumors, 5 were glomus tympanicum, and 1 was thyroid paraganglioma. RT was used in 12 patients (9 patients with glomus jugulare, 2 with glomus tympanicum, and 1 with thyroid paraganglioma). Surgery was performed in 17 patients (7 patients with glomus jugulare, 7 with carotid body, and 3 with glomus tympanicum). For patients with glomus jugulare and glomus tympanicum tumors, the 5-year freedom from disease progression was 100% for patients treated with RT vs. 62% for those treated with surgery ( p = 0.0124). Seven patients with carotid body tumors and 1 patient with thyroid paraganglioma were treated successfully with surgery and RT, respectively. No significant side effects were associated with RT; however, postoperative complications occurred in 8 of the 17 surgery patients (new cranial nerve palsies, meningitis, infection, and cerebrospinal fluid leak). Conclusion: Salvage RT appears superior to surgery and should be considered the treatment of choice for patients with recurrent glomus jugulare and glomus tympanicum tumors. For recurrent carotid body tumors, surgery produced excellent local control, most likely because of the easier resectability in this location.

Abstract: Les 17 malades operes presentent une nouvelle paralysie de nerf crânien ou une aggravation d'une paralysie preexistante (nerf facial, nerf pneumogastrique, nerf glossopharyngien, nerf grand hypoglosse)

Abstract: Twenty-six cases of so-called "minute pulmonary chemodectoma" are presented. The patient population showed a marked female preponderance, and there appeared to be an association of the lesion with pulmonary injury from a variety of causes including cardiac failure, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and thromboemboli. Half the cases had multiple tumors. Microscopically, the tumors consisted of nests of cells in the interstitial tissue near small veins. Argentaffin and argyrophil stains failed to demonstrate cytoplasmic granules in any case. By electron microscopy, the nests were composed of large cells with broadly interdigitating processes connected by many well-formed desmosomes. The cytoplasm was filled with numerous 60-A filaments. The Golgi apparatus was prominent, while other organelles were sparse. No secretory granules were identified. It is concluded that the fine structure and lack of silver-positive granules are inconsistent with the morphology of previously reported paragangliomas, but that there is a resemblance at the light and electron microscopic level to meningeal arachnoed cells and the cells of meningiomas.