A case of vulvar schwannoma

Schwannoma is generally a solitary, nodular, benign tumor of a peripheral nerve sheath, and it rarely affects the external female genitalia. Its most-common locations are the head, neck, upper and lower extremities, posterior mediastinum, and retroperitoneum. We treated a 29-year-old woman with a vulvar schwannoma. A tumor of 2.5 cm in diameter was resected for treatment and biopsy. It was a capsulate tumor with a smooth surface, and was elastic in consistency. A histological examination revealed a swirling pattern with some palisading of spindle-shaped cells in H.E. stains. Immunohistochemical studies showed the tumor to be positive for S-100 protein and negative for desmin. As a result, the mass proved to be schwannoma originating from the vulva.