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LETTER TO EDITOR |
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Year : 2019 | Volume
: 36
| Issue : 3 | Page : 477 |
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A case report of vulvar schwannoma and literature review
Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
Department of Paediatrics, Al-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Date of Submission | 19-Apr-2019 |
Date of Decision | 27-Aug-2019 |
Date of Acceptance | 07-Nov-2019 |
Date of Web Publication | 22-Jan-2020 |
Correspondence Address: Prof. Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi P.O. Box 55302, Baghdad Post Office, Baghdad Iraq
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/TJOG.TJOG_31_19
How to cite this article: Al-Mendalawi MD. A case report of vulvar schwannoma and literature review. Trop J Obstet Gynaecol 2019;36:477 |
Sir,
In January-April 2019 issue of the Tropical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vhriterhire et al.[1] reported a case of a large vulvar schwannoma occurring in a Nigerian woman, primigravidae at 35-weeks' gestation. The authors described the clinical presentation, findings of histopathologic and immunohistochemistry examination, and the treatment plan. I assume that the rarity of the clinical entity to affect an unusual site in the studied patient would have alerted the authors to take into consideration impaired immune status. Among disorders associated with impaired immunity, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has the leading priority. It is obvious that individuals infected with HIV are more vulnerable to various types of tumors compared to individuals with intact immune system. The increased tumor vulnerability has been suggested to be related to many factors, namely low immunity, coinfection with oncogenic viruses, and prolongation of life due to the use of antiretroviral treatment.[2] Among various schwannomas, nasopalpebral variety is the only one that has been reported in individuals infected with HIV.[3] Nigeria is one of the sub-Saharan countries substantially challenging the serious health hazards of HIV infection. The available data pointed out the substantial HIV seroprevalence rate (4.9%) among pregnant woman.[4] Unfortunately, the HIV status of the studied patient was not determined and I assume that defining HIV status by the diagnostic protocol of blood CD4 lymphocyte count and viral overload estimations would have to be solicited. If that protocol was to disclose HIV seropositivity, the case in question could be surely considered the first case report of HIV associated vulvar schwannoma in the literature.
Financial support and sponsorship
None.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References | | |
1. | Vhriterhire RA, Swende TZ, Onche EP, Terhemba N. Case report of vulvar schwannoma and literature review. Trop J Obstet Gynaecol 2019;36:147-51. [Full text] |
2. | Valencia Ortega ME. Malignancies and infection due to the human immunodeficiency virus. Are these emerging diseases? Rev Clin Esp 2018;218:149-55. |
3. | Handra-Luca A, Haddar D, Morin AS. Nasopalpebral Schwannomas and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection. Med Princ Pract 2016;25:96-8. |
4. | Ibrahim IA, Owoeye GI, Obilahi A. The burden of HIV infection among women attending antenatal clinic in a semi-urban Nigerian town. West Indian Med J 2013;62:323-8. |
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