Schwannoma

What Is a Schwannoma?

A Schwannoma is a benign tumour of the nervous system. They develops from the nerve sheath, the cells that cover and protect nerves. They can occur in any part of the body and at any age.

Who Do Schwannomas Affect?

Schwannomas can affect people of any age. However, diagnoses are most common between the ages of 20 and 50.

There is no difference in the incidence of schwannomas between men and women.

What Causes a Schwannoma?

In the majority of cases, the cause of schwannomas is unknown. They usually happen on their own. Schwannomas can occur in families due to inheritance of a genetic mutation, examples include neurofibromatosis and schwannomatosis.

Symptoms of Schwannoma

Symptoms of a schwannoma depend on the location in the nervous system where they develop.

When schwannomas are located in the arms and legs, the main symptom is a lump that may be painful when touched. Patients describe a “shooting or burning” pain when the tumour is palpated.

If a schwannoma occurs within a spinal nerve root and extends into the spinal canal, it may cause weakness or sensory change in an arm or leg.

Hearing, balance and ringing sensations can all occur when schwannomas develop near the ear .

Types of Schwannoma

Vestibular Schwannoma

Vestibular schwannoma also known as Acoustic Neuroma are noncancerous tumours that grow in the ear, and affect hearing and balance.

Spinal Schwannoma

Spinal Schwannomas are benign nerve sheath tumours that arise from the roots of spinal nerves and are the most frequent nerve sheath tumour of the spine.

Peripheral Schwannoma

Schwannomas occurring in the head and neck region are more frequent than those in the limbs, with 25–45% of all reported schwannomas being found in this region

How is Schwannoma Diagnosed?

Because Schwannomas grow slowly, diagnosing them might be challenging. Tests: includes

• Ultrasound scans
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans
• Computed Tomography (CT) scan

A biopsy may be performed in order to get a definitive diagnosis.

Treatment of Schwannoma’s

Treatment depends on where in the body the schwannoma is located. Surgery is usually performed to remove Schwannomas in the peripheral nervous system. Since the tumours are found in the sheath surrounding the nerve, the procedure often can often be completed without any damage to the associated nerve.

Radiotherapy may be used for schwannomas where surgery is not possible or when surgery would cause significant side effects. This is more commonly used for tumours that develop in head and neck region.

Smaller benign Schwannomas may just be monitored.