Epidemiology of Head and Neck Glomus Tumors

Abstract

Introduction: Glomus tumors or paragangliomas, also known as chemodectomas, are highly vascular benign tumors originating in the paraganglionic tissue. Despite their low incidence, they have potential for expansion, sequelae, and complications that contribute to the need for early diagnosis and treatment.

Objective: To describe the behavior of glomus tumors in patients treated in the Otorhinolaryngology service at Hermanos Ameijeiras Surgical Clinical Hospital Hospital.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in patients diagnosed with glomus tumors of the head and neck, who were treated from June 2007 to June 2017. The information was obtained from the medical records and interviews with the patients. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were studied.

Results: A total of 15 patients were included, 3 male (20%) and 12 female (80%). The mean age was 60.4 years. The most frequent initial symptoms were tinnitus and hearing loss in 14 patients, (93.3%), and the jugulo-tympanic location was the most frequent. Computed tomography was the standard diagnostic means for all, while radiotherapy was the therapeutic method of choice in all the cases studied, with a satisfactory response in the vast majority of them.

Conclusions: Glomus tumors behave as lesions of low incidence in the population, with clinical and imaging elements that must be correlated for their diagnosis and decision of the final therapeutic conduct. Radiation therapy is a non-invasive means that has shown encouraging results after its application.