A Rare Case of a Massive Carotid Body Tumor in a 3-Year-Old Infant: Case Presentation and a Literature Review.

Background: Paragangliomas are neuroendocrine tumors derived from the extra-adrenal paraganglia of the autonomic nervous system. Only 3% of all paragangliomas are reported to occur in the head and neck region. The most common paraganglioma of the head and neck is the carotid body tumor. Only few cases have been described in the literature regarding the pediatric age group less than aged 14 years, mostly as case reports.

Case Report: Our case describes a massive paraganglioma in the head and neck region occurring in a 3-year-old Arabic boy, for which surgical excision was not possible and radiotherapy resulted in a good clinical and radiologic response.

Conclusions: Paragangliomas a rare in children and mostly diagnosed in a locally advanced stage. Surgery in most cases is difficult especially because of the proximity of the vessels; radiotherapy is still a good alternative for those cases.