Primary intraosseous ganglioneuromatous paraganglioma of the sacrum with immunopositivity for cytokeratin

C.-S. Wu, X.-W. Wang, T. Qin, Z. Chen, S. Sun, J.-M. Li, H.-L. Liu, H. Feng, J.-Q. Han

Department of Orthopedics, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, P.R. China. 18753157528@163.com

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• Orthopedics

BACKGROUND: Paragangliomas are derived from neurosecretory cells believed to be of neural crest origin. A spinal location of paraganglioma is rare and usually presents as an intradural mass.

PATIENT AND METHODS: A primary intraosseous paraganglioma of sacrum is extremely unusual, and only 6 cases were reported. In this study, we report a rare case of a 44-year-old man with the complaint of low back pain and lower extremity weakness. Imaging workup, including computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) presented an intraosseous sacral lesion with invasion of sacrum in the S1-S3 vertebrae, and extension to L4-L5 spinal canal. The patient underwent subtotal tumor resection, followed by radiation therapy.

RESULTS: The morphological and immunohistochemical studies revealed a composite tumor of paraganglioma and ganglioneuroma components, with immunopositivity for cytokeratin.

CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature demonstrating an intraosseous sacral paraganglioma with these 2 pathological features.

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