Composite paraganglioma-ganglioneuroma in the retroperitoneum.docVIP

World Journal of Surgical Oncology BioMedCentral Case report Open Access Composite paraganglioma-ganglioneuroma in the retroperitoneum Shoji Hirasaki*1,2, Hiromitsu Kanzaki1, Masato Okuda1, Seiyuu Suzuki1, Tetsuji Fukuhara3 and Toshihito Hanaoka3 Address: 1Division of Gastroenterology, Sumitomo Besshi Hospital, 3-1 Ohji-cho, Niihama 7928543, Japan, 2Division of Gastroenterology, Kubo Hospital, 1-1-19 Uchibori, Imabari 7992116, Japan and 3Department of Surgery, Sumitomo Besshi Hospital, 3-1 Ohji-cho, Niihama 7928543, Japan Email: Shoji Hirasaki* - hirasaki@icknet.ne.jp; Hiromitsu Kanzaki - kanzaki@qc4.so-net.ne.jp; Masato Okuda - masato_okuda@ni.sbh.gr.jp; Seiyuu Suzuki - seiyuu_suzuki@ni.sbh.gr.jp; Tetsuji Fukuhara - tetsuji_fukuhara@ni.sbh.gr.jp; Toshihito Hanaoka - toshihito_hanaoka@ni.sbh.gr.jp * Corresponding author Published: 5 November 2009 Received: 23 August 2009 Accepted: 5 November 2009 World Journal of Surgical Oncology 2009, 7:81 doi:10.1186/1477-7819-7-81 This article is available from: /content/7/1/81 ? 2009 Hirasaki et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Background: Paragangliomas occur most commonly in head and neck region and much less frequently, they are found in the retroperitoneum. Composite paraganglioma-ganglioneuroma of the retroperitoneum is very rare. Case presentation: We present an unusual case of retroperitoneal composite paraganglioma- ganglioneuroma discovered on computed tomography in a 63-year-old female patient. Routine hematological examination and biochemical tests were within normal limits. Plasma adrenaline was 0.042 ng/ml, plasma noradrenaline 0.341 ng/ml, and plasma dopamine 0.01 ng/ml. An abdominal contrast-enhanced CT scan an