A rare case of schwannoma: schwannoma of the tongue

Abstract

Schwannomas, also known as the neurolemmomas, are caused by the Schwann cells in the peripheral, cranial or autonomic nerve sheath. These are benign, solid and encapsulated tumors. They grow slowly. Generally they are seen between the ages of 20-50 years old and they are more common in females than males, F / M :1,5-2 / 1. Schwannomas usually arise from the head and neck region (25- 48%) and only 1% of them are originated from the inside of the mouth. Twenty one years old male patient was admitted to our clinic with the complaint of difficulty in swallowing and a mass on his tongue for 6 months. In his oral examination, we observed about 1.3 x1,3x1,4 cm mass. Its surface was smooth, pink-colored and was located in the posterior midline of the tongue. It was protruding into the right part of the mouth. In the rest of head and neck examination, no pathology was detected. Routine blood tests were normal. The lesion was excised by transoral approach leaving a safe margin under general anesthesia. In histopathological examination, wavy nuclei hypercellular (Antoni A) and hypocellular (Antoni B) areas were observed. In immunohistochemical study, S100 protein, vimentin and glial fibrillary acid protein was found to be positive and it was diagnosed as schwannoma. In the postoperative period there was not any problem with the patient and therefore he was discharged from hospital one day after the operation. There was no recurrence in the first year follow-up. In this study, we presented a rare case of a schwannoma which was located on the tongue, and the subject was discussed with the literature data.