Gastric Schwannoma Presenting as an Incidentaloma on CT-Scan and MRI

A 67 year old female was referred because of an incidentaloma on CT-scan and MRI which showed a 5.0 cm large mass in the wall of the distal stomach. After an initial work-up which suggested a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a partial gastrectomy with a Billroth II gastrojejunostomy was performed. The histological diagnosis was a schwannoma. Gastric schwannomas are rare tumors which comprise 0.2% of all gastric tumors and 4% of all benign gastric neoplasms with a peak of incidence in the 4th and 5th decade of life. Gastric schwannomas are usually asymptomatic, but can present with ulceration and/or gastrointestinal bleeding. Clinical, endoscopical, surgical, radiological and histological features of this case are described and the relevant literature is reviewed.