A glomus jugulare tumor is a tumor of a part of the temporal bone in the skull. This tumor can affect the ear, upper neck, base of the skull, and the surrounding blood vessels and nerves.
Paraganglioma - glomus jugulare
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
A glomus jugulare tumor grows in the temporal bone of the skull, in an area called the jugular foramen. The jugular foramen is also where the jugular vein and several important nerves exit the skull.
This area contains nerve fibers, called glomus bodies, which normally respond to changes in body temperature or blood pressure.
These tumors usually occur later in life, around age 60 or 70, but they can appear at any age. The cause of a glomus jugulare tumor is unknown. Usually, there are no known risk factors. Glomus tumors have been associated with changes (mutations) in a gene responsible for the enzyme succinate dehydrogenase (SDHD).
Symptoms may include:
Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
Hearing problems or loss
Hearing pulsations in the ear
Weakness or loss of movement in the face (facial nerve palsy)
Signs and tests
Glomus jugulare tumors are diagnosed by physical examination and imaging tests, including:
Glomus jugulare tumors are rarely cancerous and do not tend to spread to other parts of the body. However, treatment may be needed to relieve symptoms. The main treatment is surgery. Surgery is complex and is usually done by both a neurosurgeon and a head and neck surgeon (neurotologist).
In some cases, a procedure called embolization is performed before surgery to prevent the tumor from bleeding too much during surgery.
After surgery, radiation therapy may be used to treat any part of the tumor that could not be removed completely.
Marsh M, Jenkins HA. Temporal bone neoplasms and lateralcranial base surgery. In: Flint PW, Haughey BH, Lund LJ, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2010:chap 176.
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Seth Schwartz, MD, MPH, Otolaryngologist, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc.