Dear Editor,
We read the article titled “Solitary Submandibular Schwannoma Mimicking a Salivary Gland Tumor in a Child” with utmost interest1. The authors have described a benign peripheral nerve sheath tumor in the submandibular space. They have described histopathological confirmation of their findings. We appreciate the authors’ dedicated efforts.
Histopathological examination of the specimen shown in figures 4 and 5 did not reveal any labeling. Hypercellular (Antoni A), hypocellular areas (Antoni B), and Verocay bodies should be marked with arrows. Magnification of histopathological images was not mentioned, and both images are without any scale bar. Additionally, authors could have mentioned whether immunohistochemical evaluation for S-100 was performed or not which ideally shows diffuse S-100 positivity of the schwannoma cells and helps confirm the diagnosis of schwannoma2.
Further, since it was detected in a 7-year-old child, a familial history for the presence of peripheral nerve sheath tumor should have been recorded and genetic testing should have been advised. Young adults with sporadic schwannoma may have heritable predisposing mutations3. Therefore, genetic testing may be a useful opportunity to detect the propensity for future additional tumor occurrence in young adults with sporadic schwannomas. The NF2, SMARCB1, and LZTR1 genes have been found to be associated with the occurrence of schwannomas4, 5.
We would appreciate the author response to this letter.
Thank you for your consideration.