[Intra-abdominal paraganglioma: clinical, functional, structural, and immunohistochemical study of an exceptional...

Paragangliomas are tumors, derived from paraganglionary system, able to synthesize and to liberate substances with neuroregulatory activity. They are rare, mainly in the neck located, difficult to anatomo-pathologic diagnose, and of poor prognosis. They may present as space-occupying lesions or as secondary syndromes due to the liberation of biologically active substances. Whenever it is possible, surgical excision is the treatment of choice. Nor chemotherapy, nor immunomodulators, like alpha-2b-interferon, have provided satisfactory results. A 57 year-old man, with a non-surgical paraganglioma characterized by abdominal mass associated with liver and bone metastasis, is presented. The rarity of the intra-abdominal presentation, the image study findings, the histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations, and the evolution after alpha-2b-interferon therapy are analyzed.