Chemodectoma
Chemodectoma Causes
Chomodectoma is a result of an overreaction to changes in the body's homeostasis. It can also be caused by oxygen deprivation in the carotid area. Those who have experienced prolonged hypercpania or hypoxia are susceptible to this disease too, as well as those exposed to high altitudes, but more studies are needed to support this claim.
Chemodectoma Characteristics and Features
Chemodoctoma, as well as other glomus tumors, come from small patches of paraganglionic cells associated with the autonomic nervous tissue. The head and neck parts of the body have chemoreceptive areas where these cells thrive in, and they are supposed to last until the person reaches puberty. Some of these paraganglionic cells however, do not undergo involution, especially the ones in the carotid area. These paraganglia are supposed to help stimulate cardio-respiratory activity, but sometimes they develop to be tumor cells. Persons with chemodectoma have a large, lateral, nontender neck mass. They often complain about dysphagia and hoarseness, as the esophagus and trachea are compressed by the growing tumor.
Chemodectoma Definition
A chemodectoma is a benign, non-chromaffin tumor that dwells in the carotid artery. Sometimes called as the non-chromaffin paraganglioma, chemodoctoma is usually found in the head and neck area.
Chemodectoma Treatment
Three common treatments are used for chemodoctoma, namely radiation therapy, embolization, and surgery. Radiation therapy is performed on patients who cannot undergo surgery or embolization. The use of gamma-knife irridation is used to treat the tumor and prevent it from growing. However, this treatment is very expensive and can only control the tumor's development and not totally kill it. Embolization meanwhile is an effective technique which starves the tumor of blood supply thus preventing it from growing causing it to die. It often serves as a precursor to surgery. Surgery proves to be the most successful treatment for chemodoctoma, as the procedure excises the tumor and its roots. This treatment has low death rates and is the preferred method of treatment by most patients.