Schwannoma of the cervical spinal cord with cervical angina: A case report

A case of schwannoma of the cervical spinal cord presenting with cervical angina is reported. A 49-yearold man was admitted to our hospital with severe chest pain, cold sweats, and unconsciousness. Extensive cardiac examination showed no abnormal findings. Neurological deficits were muscular weakness and atrophy of the left arm, bilateral hypersthesia of the arms, and hyporeflexia of the left biceps. MRI revealed a tumor in the left side of the spinal canal between C4 and C5. The diagnosis was neurinoma of the left nerve root in C5. The tumor was completely removed surgically by laminectomy. Surgery confirmed that the tumor had originated from the left posterior root of C5 and that, histologically, it was schwannoma. The severe chest pain immediately disappeared after removal of the tumor with only dull post-operative chest pain remaining. We hypothesized that the severe chest pain was protopathic pain caused by compression of the anterior C5 root by the tumor and/or disturbance of the inhibitory pain mechanisms of the sympathetic nerve located in the posterior horn of the spinal cord. It must be kept in mind that cervical angina caused by spinal schwannoma is one of the differential diagnoses of chest pain.