Four distinct ipsilateral vestibular schwannomas: A case of mosaic NF2-related schwannomatosis

Am J Clin Pathol. 2024 Aug 1;162(2):110-114. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqae027.

Abstract

Objectives: Distinguishing between sporadic and germline/mosaic NF2-related schwannomatosis is important to ensure that patients have appropriate long-term care. With this report, we describe a unique case of a patient with 4 ipsilateral schwannomas and identify a combination of sequencing modalities that can accurately diagnose mosaic NF2-related schwannomatosis.

Methods: We present a 32-year-old woman with a familial history of vestibular schwannoma in her father and right-sided schwannomas involving the apical and basal turns of cochlea, lateral semicircular canal, and internal auditory canal (IAC). Genetic analysis of blood and frozen tissue from 2 tumors (intralabyrinthine and IAC tumors) was performed using next-generation sequencing (NGS), multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), and optical genome mapping (OGM).

Results: Germline testing for NF2, LZTR1, and SMARCB1 was negative. Tumor genetic testing revealed a shared NF2 pathogenic variant between the 2 tumors ("first hit") but distinct "second hit" NF2 variants, including mosaic loss of chromosome 22 in the IAC tumor seen only with OGM, consistent with mosaic NF2-related schwannomatosis.

Conclusions: Multimodality sequencing, including NGS, MLPA, and OGM, was required to ensure appropriate diagnosis of mosaic NF2-related schwannomatosis in this patient. A similar approach can be used for other patients with multiple ipsilateral tumors and suspected tumor predisposition.

Keywords: acoustic neuroma; mosaicism; neurofibromatosis 2; schwannomatosis; vestibular schwannoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Mosaicism
  • Neurilemmoma* / diagnosis
  • Neurilemmoma* / genetics
  • Neurilemmoma* / pathology
  • Neurofibromatoses* / diagnosis
  • Neurofibromatoses* / genetics
  • Neurofibromatoses* / pathology
  • Neurofibromin 2 / genetics
  • Neuroma, Acoustic* / diagnosis
  • Neuroma, Acoustic* / genetics
  • Neuroma, Acoustic* / pathology
  • Skin Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Skin Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Skin Neoplasms* / pathology

Substances

  • Neurofibromin 2
  • NF2 protein, human

Supplementary concepts

  • Schwannomatosis