Paraganglioma

Diagnosis

These tests will be able to diagnose ganglioma:

  • Blood and urine tests. In order to determine the hormone levels in your body, your doctor may advise performing blood and urine tests. These examinations may find additional hormones secreted by paraganglioma cells or chromogranin A, a tumor marker.
  • Imaging tests. To better comprehend the paraganglioma’s extent and to assist your doctor to choose the most effective treatments, imaging tests may be performed to produce images of the paraganglioma.

Tests could include Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT), and specialized nuclear medicine imaging including a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan and a Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scan.

  • Genetic testing. Gene mutations that can be pass on from parents to children occasionally create paragangliomas. Your care plan may include a recommendation for genetic testing.

Treatment

Depending on the type of tumor, the location, and the symptoms related to overproduction of hormones by the tumor.

Surgery is typically used to treat paragangliomas. Before starting treatment, it is vital to stop any hormones that the paraganglioma cells may be producing. Typically, drugs are used to do this.

Additional therapies may be taken into consideration if the paraganglioma spreads to other areas of the body or if it cannot be entirely eliminated after surgery.

These are the treatments available for paraganglioma:

  • Therapies to regulate hormones that the tumor produces. You may require therapies to regulate hormone levels and manage symptoms if the paraganglioma release hormone. Before starting paraganglioma treatment, the hormone levels must be lowered and take it under control.

The drugs such as alpha blockers, beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers are used to regulate hormone levels. Other approaches could be in taking a lot of sodium-rich foods and drinking a lot of fluids.

  • Surgery. The paraganglioma is removed surgically. Your doctor can advise an operation to remove the paraganglioma entirety or as much as possible.

You might need to take drugs before surgery to control the hormones if your paraganglioma produces too many hormones. Excess hormones may be released and result in danger to certain issues when paragangliomas over produce certain hormones, as this might happen after surgery.

  • Radiation therapy.  To limit tumor growth, radiation treatment employs high-energy beams like X-rays and protons. If surgery is unable to entirely remove the paraganglioma, radiation therapy may be advised. Additionally, it can be used to treat pain brought on by paragangliomas that have spread to other areas of the body.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy is a specific form of radiation treatment that involves directing several radiation beams at the tumor. The paraganglioma cells are carefully targeted by the beams, minimizing the chance that neighboring healthy tissue would be harmed.

  • Thermal ablation therapy. Thermal ablation therapy uses heat or cold to destroy tumor cells and restrain paraganglioma growth. This might be a possibility in some circumstances, such as when a paraganglioma spreads to the bones or the liver.

The tumor cells are heated using electrical energy in a thermal ablation procedure known as radiofrequency ablation. Cryoablation is a different sort of therapy that freezes the tumor cells using cold gas.

  • Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy use medications to kill rapidly proliferating cells, such as cancer cells. In order to help the tumors shrink if your paraganglioma has spread, your doctor might suggest chemotherapy. Before starting chemotherapy, you will be given drugs to regulate the hormone levels if your paraganglioma produces excessive hormones.
  • Targeted drug therapy. Targeted medication therapies aims on particular defects that are prevalent in cancer cells. Targeted medication therapies can either stop the proliferation of cancer cells or slow it down by obstructing these abnormalities.
  • Medicines that target radiation treatment towards tumor cells. Direct radiation delivery to the tumor cells is possible with the use of medications that mix a drug that targets paraganglioma cells with a radioactive material. These therapies might be an option for paragangliomas that metastasize to different body regions.
  • Observation. In other cases, such as when a paraganglioma is slow-growing and not exhibiting any symptoms, your doctor can advise against starting therapy right away. Instead, at routine follow-up sessions, your doctor might just observe your health.