Abstract:

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features and long ⁃term outcomes of patients with abdominal paraganglioma（PGL）. Methods A retrospective study of relevant databases were performed to analyze theclinicopathological features and long⁃term follow⁃up outcomes of patients with abdominal PGL. Kaplan⁃ Meier survival analysis was performed to explore the influencing factors of postoperative recurrence or death of abdominal PGL. Results A total of 24 patients were confirmed with abdominal PGL. The average age of diagnosis was 58.9 years. The average tumor size was 5 cm and they were predominantly located in the infrarenal position. The mean follow⁃up period was 54 months. All patients with metastases had pheochromocytoma of the Adrenal Gland Scaled Score（PASS）of ≥ 4. One patient presented with synchronous metastases while 2 developed local recurrence and distant metastases. One patient died 9 years after diagnosis. Kaplan⁃Meier curve analysis showed recurrence or death in patients with PASS score of 4 ~ 7 was significantly higher than patients with PASS score of 0 ~ 3（P = 0.03）. Conclusions Abdominal PGL is a rare tumor with excellent long⁃term prognosis. Recurrence， although common，can occur decades after initial diagnosis. Long⁃term follow⁃up is therefore recommended for all patients with PGL，especially in patients with PASS of ≥ 4.

Key words: paraganglioma,  , recurrence,  , surgery, therapy