Malignant Peripheral Nerve Tumors Research Articles

Epithelial elements in a malignant neurogenic tumor of the tibial nerve

All primary malignant peripheral nerve tumors are derived from the Schwann cell of the neurilemma and should be referred to as malignant neurilemmomas. The Schwann cell is neuroectodermal in origin and retains its embryonic multipotentiality. Epithelial elements, which occur in 10 per cent of these malignant tumors, substantiate this interpretation. A case of a malignant neurilemmoma with epithelial elements is presented. A literature review yields eighteen other cases. The average survival is four years. No generalizations can be made of this tumor except that its innocent clinical presentation, which belies its true malignant nature, necessitates a high index of suspicion by the clinician.

Retroperitoneal Malignant Schwannoma and Chylous Effusions

PRIMARY retroperitoneal malignancies and malignant schwannomas are rare. Their occurrence together has been reported in only 14 patients. Stout1reviewed 137 malignant tumors of peripheral nerves, and six of these tumors were located in the retroperitoneal area. Ackerman2describes a retroperitoneal malignant schwannoma and mentions three others tabulated by Stout in a series from Columbia University. Carpenter and Kernohan3found four cases of malignant schwannomas arising in the retroperitoneal area, in a study of the Mayo Clinic material over a 33-year period, which excluded cases of von Recklinghausen's disease. Chylous effusions are generally associated with trauma or neoplasms. The neoplasms most frequently encountered causing chylous effusions are metastatic carcinomas, lymphomas, and rarely sarcomas, as indicated in the Table.4-7Nix7reviewed 302 cases of chylous effusions, 84 of which were caused by neoplasms. Wallis and Scholberg4enumerated 233 cases of chylous effusions of which 81 were due to malignancies, six