Schwannoma of the vagina - a common tumor but a rare location: A case report

Schwannomas are nerve sheath tumors arising from Schwann cells. These tumors usually present as benign, relatively slow-growing, solitary, encapsulated, painless masses. Schwannomas rarely occur in the vagina, and have not been fully recognized as gynecological tumors. We herein describe the case of a patient who presented with a schwannoma occurring in the wall of vagina, with non-specific symptoms lasting for ~1 year. The vaginal mass was incidentally detected during a sonographic examination and the patient was referred for surgical resection. The surgery was uncomplicated and the vaginal tumor was diagnosed as benign schwannoma. The immunohistochemical examination revealed positivity for vimentin, S-100 and glial fibrillary acidic protein, whereas discovered on GIST-1, CD117, CD34, desmin, smooth muscle actin and cytokeratin were negative. Tumors occurring in the vagina are common and are of variable histological types, with a wide range of pathological characteristics and complications. Schwannoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with atypical symptoms from the gynecological tract. Immunohistochemical staining is required for confirmation of the diagnosis of schwannoma, and for distinguishing this entity from other homologous tumors.