Imaging Features of Intraosseous Schwannoma: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

Abstract

To characterize the imaging features of patients with pathologically confirmed intraosseous schwannoma (IOS), institutional pathology and imaging databases were searched for IOS cases over a period of 17 years. A musculoskeletal radiologist evaluated all imaging studies. Additionally, a literature search was performed to identify IOS cases that had imaging findings of at least two modalities. Six patients (one female, five males, mean age of 50 ± 14 years) with IOS were identified, with all lesions localized to the lumbosacral region. Radiographic imaging was available in four patients, while all patients underwent CT and MR imaging. Radiographs depicted lytic lesions, and CT depicted heterogeneous expansile lesions with centrally hypodense areas and peripheral sclerosis. All cases involved extra-osseous extension, producing a mass effect on adjacent soft tissues and nerve roots. On MRI, the neoplasms displayed iso- to- slightly- low signal intensity on T1-weighted images and hyperintense signal intensity on T2-weighted images with heterogeneous enhancement. The literature review resulted in 102 IOS cases, which to the best of our knowledge, is the largest review on IOS, and the imaging findings of the previously published cases were the same as our cases. IOSs are rare benign neoplasms that should be considered in the differential diagnosis of well-defined expansile lytic lesions with sclerotic borders. This is particularly important in middle-aged adults with mandibular, sacral, or vertebral body mass.