Gastric schwannoma: Case report and literature review

Abstract

Gastric schwannomas are rare tumors of mesenchymal origin that arise from Schwann cells of the neural plexus within the gastric wall. Gastrointestinal schwannomas are typically solitary and occur most commonly in the stomach. Schwannomas comprise only 0.2% of all gastric tumors and only 4% of all benign gastric neoplasms. Here, we present the case of an 85-year-old female patient with an incidentally noted submucosal gastric tumor. She underwent wedge resection of the stomach under suspicion of a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, but postoperative histopathological and immunohistochemical findings confirmed the diagnosis of schwannoma. Although schwannomas are universally benign, they are often difficult to distinguish preoperatively from malignant tumors such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Therefore, resection is usually recommended, even for asymptomatic patients. © 2012 JMS.