Malignant Neural Sheath Tumors of the Head and Neck

Introduction: Malignant neural sheath tumors located in the head and neck region are very rare. Surgical treatment if possible is the best option, trying to obtain wide resection margins free of tumor. Objects: To determine the incidence of malignant tumors of neural histology, in relation to nerve tumors originating in the head and neck and description of two clinical cases. Methods: A retrospective and descriptive study was carried out by reviewing the electronic medical records of all patients who were diagnosed and treated for neural histology tumors originating in the head and neck, between March 1998 and December 2021. Results: Eighteen patients were treated for nerve tumors originating in the head and neck. The benign tumors of neural origin were located in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses (6/18) and in the neck (10/18). Four originated from the facial nerve in the parotid, three from the cervical sympathetic nerve in the retro styloid carotid space, one in the submaxillary region, and two in the supraclavicular fossa. The incidence of malignant nerve tumors was 11.11% (2/18). Conclusions: The incidence of malignant neural sheath tumors in our study was 11.11%. Most neural sheath tumors are benign and can cause functional alterations due to compression of the nerve of origin or adjacent structures, but when the neoplasm grows rapidly malignancy should be suspected. The main treatment is surgery trying to obtain wide tumor-free margins.