Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal Mass

Schwannomas are generally slow growing asymptomatic neoplasms that rarely occur in the GI tract. However, if found, the most common site is the stomach. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, and 60–70% of them occur in the stoma...

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Main Authors: William Yoon, Kari Paulson, Paul Mazzara, Sweety Nagori, Mohammed Barawi, Richard Berri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Surgery
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/280982
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author William Yoon
Kari Paulson
Paul Mazzara
Sweety Nagori
Mohammed Barawi
Richard Berri
author_facet William Yoon
Kari Paulson
Paul Mazzara
Sweety Nagori
Mohammed Barawi
Richard Berri
author_sort William Yoon
collection DOAJ
description Schwannomas are generally slow growing asymptomatic neoplasms that rarely occur in the GI tract. However, if found, the most common site is the stomach. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, and 60–70% of them occur in the stomach. Owing to their typical presentation as submucosal neoplasms, gastric schwannomas and GISTs appear grossly similar. Accordingly, the differential diagnosis for a gastric submucosal mass should include gastric schwannomas. Furthermore, GI schwannomas are benign neoplasms with excellent prognosis after surgical resection, whereas 10–30% of GISTs have malignant behavior. Hence, it is important to distinguish gastric schwannomas from GISTs to make an accurate diagnosis to optimally guide treatment options. Nevertheless, owing to the paucity of gastric schwannomas, the index of suspicion for this diagnosis is low. We report a rare case of gastric schwannoma in 53-year-old woman who underwent laparoscopic partial gastrectomy under the suspicion of a GIST preoperatively but confirmed to have a gastric schwannoma postoperatively. This case underscores the importance of including gastric schwannomas in the differential diagnosis when preoperative imaging studies reveal a submucosal, exophytic gastric mass. For a gastric schwannoma, complete margin negative surgical resection is the curative treatment of choice.
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spelling doaj-art-e7d2217639ae48bb886c89e468b00cca2025-08-20T03:21:01ZengWileyCase Reports in Surgery2090-69002090-69192012-01-01201210.1155/2012/280982280982Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal MassWilliam Yoon0Kari Paulson1Paul Mazzara2Sweety Nagori3Mohammed Barawi4Richard Berri5Department of Surgery, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USADepartment of Surgery, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USADepartment of Pathology, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USADepartment of Pathology, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USADepartment of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USADepartment of Surgery, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USASchwannomas are generally slow growing asymptomatic neoplasms that rarely occur in the GI tract. However, if found, the most common site is the stomach. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, and 60–70% of them occur in the stomach. Owing to their typical presentation as submucosal neoplasms, gastric schwannomas and GISTs appear grossly similar. Accordingly, the differential diagnosis for a gastric submucosal mass should include gastric schwannomas. Furthermore, GI schwannomas are benign neoplasms with excellent prognosis after surgical resection, whereas 10–30% of GISTs have malignant behavior. Hence, it is important to distinguish gastric schwannomas from GISTs to make an accurate diagnosis to optimally guide treatment options. Nevertheless, owing to the paucity of gastric schwannomas, the index of suspicion for this diagnosis is low. We report a rare case of gastric schwannoma in 53-year-old woman who underwent laparoscopic partial gastrectomy under the suspicion of a GIST preoperatively but confirmed to have a gastric schwannoma postoperatively. This case underscores the importance of including gastric schwannomas in the differential diagnosis when preoperative imaging studies reveal a submucosal, exophytic gastric mass. For a gastric schwannoma, complete margin negative surgical resection is the curative treatment of choice.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/280982
spellingShingle William Yoon
Kari Paulson
Paul Mazzara
Sweety Nagori
Mohammed Barawi
Richard Berri
Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal Mass
Case Reports in Surgery
title Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal Mass
title_full Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal Mass
title_fullStr Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal Mass
title_full_unstemmed Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal Mass
title_short Gastric Schwannoma: A Rare but Important Differential Diagnosis of a Gastric Submucosal Mass
title_sort gastric schwannoma a rare but important differential diagnosis of a gastric submucosal mass
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/280982
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