Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract

2017 Edition
| Editors: Fátima Carneiro, Paula Chaves, Arzu Ensari

Glomus Tumor, Gastrointestinal

  • José Manuel Lopes
Reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40560-5_1625
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Synonyms

Glomangioma; Glomangiomatosis; Glomangiomyoma; Glomangiopericytoma; Glomangiosarcoma; Malignant glomus tumor; Symplastic glomus tumor

Definition

Glomus tumors are mesenchymal neoplasm comprising cells that resemble the modified smooth muscle cells of the normal glomus body. The glomus body is a specialized form of arteriovenous anastomosis which is involved in temperature regulation. There is a central coiled canal known as Sucquet-Hoyer canal which is lined by plump endothelial cells. This is surrounded by longitudinal and circular muscle fibers containing epithelial appearing glomus cells.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    Glomus tumors are rare in the gastrointestinal tract. The incidence of glomus tumor is estimated to be 1% of that of gastrointestinal tumors.

  • Age

    The median age of gastrointestinal glomus tumors is 48–55 years (range 19–90 years) (Kang et al. 2012).

  • Sex

    Gastrointestinal glomus tumors predominate in females (∼ 3:1) (Miettinnen et al. 2010).

  • Site

    Most...

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References and Further Reading

  1. Kang, G., Park, H. P., Kim, J. Y., Choi, D., Min, B. H., Lee, J. H., Kim, J. J., Kim, K.-M., Park, C. K., Sohn, T. S., & Kim, S. (2012). Glomus tumor of the stomach: A clinicopathologic analysis of 10 cases and review of the literature. Gut and Liver, 6, 52–57.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Miettinen, M., Paal, E., Lasota, J., & Sobin, L. H. (2002). Gastrointestinal glomus tumors: A clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular genetic study of 32 cases. American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 26, 301–311.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Miettinnen, M. (2010). Glomus tumor, sinonasal haemangiopericytoma, and myopericytoma. In M. Miettinen (Ed.), Modern soft tissue pathology: Tumors and non-neoplastic conditions (pp. 648–656). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Miettinnen, M., Fletcher, C. D. M., Kindblom, L.-G., & Tsui, W. M. S. (2010). Mesenchymal tumours of the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum. In F. T. Bosman, F. Carneiro, R. H. Hruban, & N. E. Theise (Eds.), WHO classification of tumours of the digestive system (p. 76). Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto and Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of PortoPortoPortugal