Mediastinal chemodectoma and thoracic aortography

A case of nonfunctioning paraganglioma arising from the retroperitoneum: angiographic and scintigraphic features

We report a case of a nonfunctioning nonchromaffin paraganglioma arising from organ of Zuckerkandl. Angiography manifested a cartwheel-shaped image in the arterial phase and a characteristic tortoise shell-shaped lobular structure with homogeneous opacification in the venous phase. Just after administration of 99mtechnetium-E-HIDA scintigraphy disclosed a globular hot density below the left kidney. These findings may represent characteristic signs of paragangliomas.

Aortico-pulmonary paraganglioma: report of a case with ultrastructural study and review of the literature

The light microscopic and ultrastructural features of an aortico-pulmonary paraganglioma (A-PP) are presented. The tumor was characterized by organoid clustering of neoplastic chief cells to form Zellballen. Argyrophilic granules were demonstrated within chief cell cytoplasm using a modified Grimelus technique. Ultrastructurally, three distinct cell types were present within the tumor: endothelial cells, pericytes and neoplastic chief cells. Membrane-bound neurosecretory granules were present and measured 100 to 2000 nm in diameter. "Light" and "dark" chief cells were less distinct than previously reported in other head and neck paragangliomas. Analysis of the 36 documented A-PP reported in the English literature reveals that the tumor has been either incompletely excised or has been considered unresectable in one-third of the cases. The reported surgical mortality is 9%, or approximately equal to the incidence of malignant behavior. The treatment of choice is surgical resection but when this is not possible, radiation may be a useful adjunct in therapy.

Mediastinal paragangliomas (aortic body tumor): a report of four cases and a review of the literature

Four cases of paraganglioma originating in the supra-aortic or aortico-pulmonary bodies are described. A review of the reported examples of aortic body tumors and a study of these four cases indicate that there is a high incidence of aggressive tumor growth in the mediastinum, with resultant important morbidity or death in 16 of 35 cases. The morphologic features of aortic body tumors are identical to those of paragangliomas of other locations, and the occurrence of invasive growth and/or metastasis cannot be predicted on histologic grounds.