Carcinoma del glomus carotideo. Serie de casos / Carcinoma of the carotid glomus. Case series

Introducción. El carcinoma del glomus carotideo es infrecuente y se presenta en el 6 % de los paragangliomas carotideos. Suele haber dificultad en su diagnóstico preoperatorio y no se diferencia fácilmente de su contraparte benigna, lo que puede conllevar a complicaciones quirúrgicas. Este trabajo describe la experiencia en su abordaje clínico y quirúrgico en una serie de casos, además de una revisión de la literatura profundizando en su diagnóstico, abordaje terapéutico, sobrevida y mortalidad. Métodos. De los pacientes operados por glomus carotideos durante un periodo de 20 años, se identificaron aquellos llevados a cirugía por carcinoma. Se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica extensa en PubMed, haciendo énfasis en diagnóstico y tratamiento. Resultados. De un total de 139 pacientes sometidos a cirugía de resección de tumor del cuerpo carotideo, tres pacientes (2,2 %) presentaron carcinoma. Dos tenían metástasis cervicales y uno metástasis hepáticas. Uno presentaba glomus bilateral asociado a trastorno genético de origen familiar. Se realizó cirugía y adyuvancia en todos los casos. Discusión. El diagnóstico diferencial preoperatorio entre glomus benigno y maligno es difícil, por lo cual deben buscarse hallazgos clínicos o factores de riesgo que puedan sugerir malignidad. Las imágenes pocas veces muestran características claras de invasión vascular. Siempre que sea posible, en el tratamiento del cáncer del glomus carotideo, debe realizarse resección quirúrgica, acompañada de un vaciamiento funcional de cuello, dejando la radioterapia, la quimioterapia y la hormonoterapia como terapias adyuvantes

Introduction. Carcinoma of the carotid glomus is rare and occurs in 6% of carotid paragangliomas. There is often difficulty in its preoperative diagnosis, and it is not easily differentiated from its benign counterpart, which can lead to surgical complications. This study describes the experience in its clinical and surgical approach in a series of cases, as well as a review of the literature of its diagnosis, therapeutic approach, survival, and mortality.Methods. Of the patients operated for carotid glomus over a 20-year period, those undergoing surgery for carcinoma were identified. An extensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, with an emphasis on diagnosis and treatment.Results. Out of a total of 139 patients who underwent carotid body tumor resection surgery, three patients (2.2%) had carcinoma. Two had cervical metastases and one had liver metastases. One had bilateral glomus associated with a genetic disorder of familial origin. Surgery and adjuvant surgery were performed in all cases.Discussion. The preoperative differential diagnosis between benign and malignant glomus is difficult, for which clinical findings or risk factors that may suggest malignancy should be sought. Images rarely show clear features of vascular invasion. Whenever possible in the treatment of carotid glomus cancer, surgical resection should be performed, accompanied by a functional neck dissection, leaving radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy as adjuvant therapies

Tumor de corpo carotídeo (paraganglioma): relato de dois casos submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico / Carotid body tumor (paraganglioma): report of two cases treated surgically

O tumor de corpo carotídeo é uma neoplasia rara, geralmente benigna, que acomete, sobretudo, indivíduos entre a quarta e a quinta décadas de vida. Manifesta-se pela presença de massa cervical consistente localizada abaixo do ângulo da mandíbula, pulsátil e comumente indolor. Pode evoluir para dor local, disfagia, soluços, rouquidão e síndrome do corpo carotídeo hipersensível. Este artigo relata os casos de duas pacientes diagnosticadas com essa neoplasia e submetidas ao tratamento cirúrgico. A primeira foi submetida a uma ressecção em bloco do tumor, enquanto a segunda, com estadiamento mais precoce, foi tratada com uma ressecção subadventicial da lesão.

A carotid body tumor is a rare neoplasm, generally benign, that predominantly affects people between their fourth and fifth decades of life. It manifests as a pulsatile and generally painless cervical mass with firm consistency, located below the angle of the jaw. It can progress to the extent that it causes localized pain, dysphagia, hiccups, hoarseness and hypersensitive carotid body syndrome. This article reports the cases of two female patients diagnosed with this tumor who were treated surgically. The first was treated with block resection of the tumor, while the second patient, who had an early stage tumor, was treated with subadventitial resection of the lesion.

Desvascularización preoperatoria de tumor del glomus mediante colocación de stent cubierto en la carótida externa / Preoperative Devascularization of a Glomus Tumor with a Covered Stent in the External Carotid Artery

Los tumores del glomus carotídeo se caracterizan por su vascularización importante y su manejo preoperatorio puede incluir la embolización percutánea previa a la resección quirúrgica. Esta técnica disminuye la hemorragia y el tamaño del tumor y hace menos riesgosa la disección, con reducción de la morbimortalidad. Una técnica alternativa es la interrupción de la irrigación del tumor mediante la colocación de un stent cubierto en la carótida externa, que es la vía principal de irrigación. Esta técnica es útil en especial en tumores grandes y evita el riesgo de embolia intracraneal cuando se emplean coils para realizar la embolización. En esta presentación se describe el caso de una paciente de 31 años tratada de esta manera; se le colocó el stent y 24 horas después se realizó la resección del tumor.

Glomus tumors are hypervascularized neoplasms which may require preoperative percutaneous embolization. This technique reduces the incidence of bleeding, the tumor size, the risk of resection-related complications, and morbidity and mortality. The interruption of the tumor blood supply placing a covered stent in the external carotid artery, the main tumor-supplying vessel, is an alternative option. This technique is especially useful in large tumors and prevents the risk of intracranial embolism when coils are used during embolization. We describe the case of a 31 year-old female patient who underwent stent placement 48 hours before tumor resection.