A Rare Case of Primary Posterior Mediastinal Pleural Ancient Schwannoma

Abstract

Ancient schwannoma is a rare subtype of schwannomas that is generally benign and primarily discovered incidentally through imaging findings. The tumor is characteristically slow-growing and frequently seen to undergo transformative changes such as cystic or myxoid degeneration which can at times lead to erroneous diagnosis of a malignant growth. Ancient schwannomas derive from Schwann cells and can arise at any location with nerve sheaths however they are typically found in the head and neck and less commonly so in the pleura. Here, we report a case of a primary posterior mediastinal ancient schwannoma of the pleura discovered incidentally in a man who initially presented with a chief complaint of cough.