• ganglioneuroma
• incidentaloma
• surgical resection

Background and aims: ganglioneuromas are benign tumors which origin from the
neural crest. This tumor affects mainly young patients rather than adult ones, and its
most frequent localizations are mediastinum, retroperitoneum, adrenal glands and
cervical region. Usually, ganglioneuromas are discovered as incidentalomas since
they are often asymptomatic, even if they could present sympathetic or mass-related
symptoms. To obtain a definitive diagnosis, histological exam is necessary. The
surgical excision is the chosen treatment and it offers an excellent prognosis.
Methods: we conducted a retrospective analysis of our cases of ganglioneuroma
from 2004 to 2014; this study aims to compare our experience’s data with literature
review (2000-2014). Data about patients’ features, tumors’ localization, symptoms,
treatment and follow-up were analyzed and reported in detailed tables.
Results: between 2004-2014 we treated 12 patients affected by ganglioneuroma. For
all of them the diagnosis was incidental; 7 out of 12 (58.3%) patients presented an
adrenal mass; in 2 patients (16.7%) the tumor was localized in cervical region; in
other 2 patients (16.7%) the tumor was in the retroperitoneum and one patient (8.3%)
presents a ganglioneuroma in the costo-vertebral space. All our patients underwent
surgical removal and none of them present surgery-related complications or
recurrences to date.

Conclusions: our data widen the knowledge about ganglioneuroma and confirm that
the surgical approach has an excellent prognosis with very low incidence of surgery-
related complications and recurrences