Peripheral nerve tumours

Need to know

• What are the symptoms of peripheral nerve tumours? icon plus

  Benign (non-cancerous) tumours grow slowly within the nerve, causing it to expand and press down on the nerve fibres. This causes pain, numbness and a lump under the skin. While most peripheral nerve tumours are benign, some are cancerous (malignant). In these cases, it's more likely to cause loss of function and pain.

• Diagnosing peripheral nerve tumours icon plus

  Your consultant will discuss your symptoms with you and help to make a diagnosis. They will examine the lump and order further tests. These include:

  • an MRI scan to see your soft tissues and nerves
  • a CT scan to get a detailed picture of how a tumour may affect your nerves and body
  • an electromyogram (EMG) to record electricity in your muscles

  Crucially, your consultant will order biopsies on the tumour to see if it's cancerous and to determine treatment. Here, a small collection of cells is sent away for testing.

• Potential treatment options icon plus

  If a tumour is benign, they don't normally reoccur. Malignant tumours are removed promptly, through surgery. The surgeon will also take a small amount of healthy tissue to ensure they have caught all the cells. This is followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.