Vestibular schwannoma

A vestibular schwannoma (also known as acoustic neuroma, acoustic neurinoma, or acoustic neurilemoma) is a benign, usually slow-growing cerebellopontine angle tumor that develops from the balance and hearing nerves supplying the inner ear. The tumor comes from an overproduction of Schwann cells.

They usually originate in the internal acoustic meatus, and gradually extends into the cerebellopontine cistern. Invasive growth into the petrous bone is extremely rare. This may have arisen because of an unusually peripheral site of origin on the vestibular nerve ¹⁾.

Epidemiology

see Vestibular schwannoma epidemiology.

Etiology

see Vestibular schwannoma etiology.

Classification

see Vestibular schwannoma classification.

Natural history

see Vestibular schwannoma natural history.

Pathology

Tumors are composed of Antoni A fibers (narrow elongated bipolar cells) and Antoni B fibers (loose reticulated). Verocay bodies are also seen, and consist of acellular eosinophilic areas surrounded by parallel arrangement of spindle shaped schwann cells (they are not a cell type).

Clinical

see Vestibular schwannoma clinical features.

Diagnosis

see Vestibular schwannoma diagnosis.

Scores

see Vestibular schwannoma scores.

Differential diagnosis

Cerebellopontine angle meningioma.

Cerebellopontine hemangioblastoma.

Gao S et al., reported a cerebellar glioblastoma multiforme patient, with his clinical presentations and imaging characteristics mimicking a vestibular schwannoma. To the best of authors knowledge, this is the first reported patient with cGBM mimicking a vestibular schwannoma ²⁾.

Guidelines

see Vestibular schwannoma guidelines.

Treatment

see Vestibular schwannoma treatment.

Outcome

see Vestibular schwannoma outcome.

Meta-analysis

see Vestibular Schwannoma Meta-analysis

Case series

see Vestibular schwannoma case series.

Case reports

see Vestibular schwannoma case reports.

Books

Vestibular Schwannoma Books.