Details
Neck mass.
Tumours arising from the parasympathetic paraganglia are rare, and are named according to anatomical site of origin. 30% of all paragangliomas occur in the head and neck with carotid body being the most common location, followed by jugular, tympanic, vagal and larynx sites. It occurs more frequently in women than men in a ratio of 4-8:1. It usually presents as a painless and slow growing mass.
Microscopically, it has a nested (zellballen), alveolar or whorled architecture composed of small epithelioid chief cells with granular basophilic cytoplasm and sustentacular supporting cells. Mitotic figures are rare. Chief cells are positive for neuroendocrine markers and sustentacular cells for S100 and GFAP.
Treatments include surgery and radiation therapy with excellent prognosis. Recurrence is rare and is more common in SDH-mutated tumours.