Pelvic schwannoma in an adult male

Abstract

Schwannomas are benign nerve sheath tumors that are generally encapsulated and commonly detected in the head, neck, and mediastinal regions. Schwannomas localizing in the pelvis are extremely rare and tend to be asymptomatic initially due to slow growth rate. Schwannomas may be misdiagnosed as urologic or gynecologic tumors. Pelvic schwannomas are typically solitary, large, and well-circumscribed masses in the retroperitoneum or presacral areas. Other imaging characteristics are cystic degeneration, repeated hemorrhages, and calcifications. Calcification patterns can be punctate, speckled, curvilinear, or along the walls of the masses. We report a young man with a pelvic schwannoma with typical imaging features.