Mediastinal pheochromocytoma

Functioning thoracic paraganglioma: association with Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome

Functioning thoracic paraganglioma (pheochromocytoma) is unusual and therefore suggestive of a pathogenesis distinct from that of sporadic adrenal pheochromocytoma. To determine whether the pheochromocytoma-associated syndromes Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2) play a role in the development of thoracic functioning paragangliomas, germline DNA from five unselected patients with this rare tumor was analyzed for mutations in the genes that predispose to VHL and MEN 2. Genetic investigations and further clinical data revealed that three had VHL, with two different germline mutations of the vhl gene, but no individual was affected by MEN 2. Two of the three patients with VHL did not show any additional VHL-associated lesions. This result suggests that VHL should be considered in the differential diagnosis of thoracic pheochromocytoma, as such a diagnosis carries further important implications for the patient and family. Conversely, in patients suspected of a catecholamine-secreting tumor and known VHL, thoracic localization should be considered if an adrenal pheochromocytoma cannot be detected.

Nonfunctioning paraganglioma of the posterior mediastinum. Case report

A case of nonfunctioning paraganglioma of the posterior mediastinum in a 20-year-old white man is presented. The diagnosis of aorticosympathetic paraganglioma (Glenner-Grimley classification) was established by histologic examination after surgical removal of the tumor.

Intrapericardial pheochromocytoma

A patient with intrapericardial pheochromocytoma is described, and the literature on this subject is reviewed. Iodine 131-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy was superior to computed tomography in localizing the tumor. This newly introduced method is safe, specific, noninvasive, and may prove to be the method of choice for localizing pheochromocytomas. The patient was prepared for surgery with alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents. The tumor was markedly adherent to the posterior wall of the left and right atria. Cardiopulmonary bypass was used to allow excision of the tumor. Hemostasis was attained with difficulty due to marked vascularity of the tumor.

Functioning paraganglioma in the posterior mediastinum

An unusual case of a functioning paraganglioma originating from the posterior mediastinum is reported. The main indications in the 21-year-old patient were hypertension and an abnormal roentgenogram of the chest. Blood and urine catecholamine assay confirmed the diagnosis of norepinephrine-secreting tumor, which was covered by the parietal pleura and attached to the sympathetic trunk. In the literature we could find reports of 25 patients with paraganglioma arising from the sympathetic trunk in the posterior mediastinum, 8 of whom had some symptoms and only 3 of whom were assayed for catecholamines. We diagnosed the present tumor as functioning aorticosympathetic paraganglioma according to the new classification and terminology suggested by Glenner and Grimley [1].

Intrathoracic phaeochromocytoma

A review of the 22 reported examples of intrathoracic phaeochromocytoma is presented. A further patient is described who also had a second phaeochromocytoma in an ectopic adrenal gland situated in the hilum of the left kidney.

The diagnosis, localization, and pathology of multiple phaeochromocytomas are discussed.