Malignant tumor of the peripheral nerves

Six cases of malignant tumor of the peripheral nerves were studied over the past ten years. All cases were encountered in patients at the Tri-Service General Hospital, where the first, a young man, had an intraspinal intradural tumor, L5-S1, enlarged toward the left side. The second case, a woman, had a long cord-like tumor in the distal sciatic and proximal posterior tibial nerves of the right leg. The third case, a seven-year-old boy diagnosed at two years of age with known von Recklinghausen's disease, had a nodular mass in the right axillary region; originally diagnosed as a benign neurofibroma after an excisional biopsy, malignancy was demonstrated in the tumor more than one year later. The fourth case, a male adult, had an intraspinal extradural tumor. C7 to T2, greater on the left side. The fifth case, a male adult, had a huge tumor located in the pelvic cavity. The sixth case, a 53-year-old male, had neurofibromatosis at the age of 15, and later developed a malignant schwannoma in the right upper back with metastasis to the right lung. The clinical courses, modes of treatment, pathological findings and tumor locations of these six cases are described and discussed.