Symptoms of schwannomas
Schwannomas grow slowly, one may have it for years and not experience any symptoms. As schwannomas can appear in different areas of the body, the symptoms vary greatly. Some people may have more symptoms than others and they can range from mild to severe.
Symptoms of schwannoma include:
- A visible lump that may feel tender when you touch it.
- Muscle weakness
- Numbness.
- Aching, burning or sharp pain
- Pins-and-needles feeling (paresthesia [3]).
Vestibular schwannomas can affect hearing and balance, as well as cause ringing sensations (tinnitus).
Tumors by your facial nerve can make it difficult to swallow, move your eye, and taste sensations or cause facial paralysis.
Sciatic nerve schwannomas can mimic disk herniation with low back pain, and radiating pain down your leg.
Causes of schwannoma?
The exact cause of schwannomas is not known in most cases. Approximately 90% of cases occur sporadically (randomly).
However, schwannomas can be traced to genetic disorders such as Carney complex, neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) and schwannomatosis. Genetic studies show that the NF2 gene on chromosome 22 is related to the development of schwannoma.