Mediastinal nerve sheath tumors are tumors of nerve sheath origin located in the mediastinum, mainly derived from nerve sheath cells, and are classified into benign nerve sheath tumors and malignant nerve sheath tumors.
Mediastinal nerve sheath tumors are mainly derived from nerve sheath cells, and are predominantly found in the posterior spinal nerve roots and intercostal nerves, with no difference in incidence between the right and left thoracic cavity. Benign nerve sheath tumor grows slowly, has clear boundary, complete envelope, and will not spread and metastasize; malignant nerve sheath tumor grows fast, has unclear boundary, and is easy to spread and metastasize.
Benign mediastinal nerve sheath tumor is asymptomatic in early stage, and a few of them have chest or back pain due to the compression of intercostal nerves, bronchial bundle compression will cause cough and dyspnea, and hoarseness will occur if it compresses the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and numbness of the lower limbs and impaired activity may occur after the tumor extends into the spine. Malignant mediastinal nerve sheath tumor grows fast, and the symptoms usually appear earlier and more serious.
When the tumor grows enormously, the mediastinum can be shifted to the healthy side, and the lungs are compressed and symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath and recurrent infections gradually appear.
The examination of mediastinal nerve sheath tumor is usually X-ray, CT and other imaging tests. No matter benign or malignant mediastinal nerve sheath tumor, treatment is mainly based on surgical resection, which needs to remove the tumor body and the envelope completely.