To report a case of benign colonic schwannoma that exhibited imaging features typically associated with malignancy, highlighting the diagnostic challenges.
Approach:
Case Presentation: A 43-year-old woman with abdominal pain and altered bowel habits underwent colonoscopy revealing a large submucosal mass. Imaging suggested malignancy, but histopathology confirmed a benign schwannoma.
Key Findings:
The colonic schwannoma displayed pronounced restricted diffusion on MRI and prominent mesocolic lymphadenopathy, which suggested malignancy.
Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of benign gastrointestinal schwannoma despite preoperative imaging suggesting malignancy.
All harvested mesocolic lymph nodes showed reactive hyperplasia without metastasis.
Interpretation:
Benign colonic schwannomas can mimic malignancy due to imaging features such as restricted diffusion and lymphadenopathy.
Limitations:
The case is based on a single patient, limiting generalizability.
Imaging features may vary in different cases of schwannoma.
Conclusion:
Imaging and biopsy may not exclude malignancy in cases of benign colonic schwannoma, and definitive diagnosis relies on histopathology and immunohistochemistry.
