Clinical epidemiological retrospective study of glomus tumors diagnosed over 16 years in a reference unit

Introduction: Glomus tumor is a benign and rare neoplasm that appears as solitary and painful nodule, mainly subungual. It presents characteristic clinical manifestations such as paroxysmal pain and sensitivity to local pressure and to cold. Objective: To conduct a clinical epidemiological survey of glomus tumors diagnosed in a reference unit in 16 years. Methods: Retrospective study assessing clinical and epidemiological data of 15 patients with glomus tumor confirmed by histopathological report from 2000 to 2016. Data on age, gender, tumor location, associated symptoms, duration of symptoms until diagnosis, clinical presentation, histological type and recurrence after surgery were analysed. Results: Fifteen cases were diagnosed, 11 in women (73.3%) and four in men (26.7%). Mean age was 63 years. The most frequent location was the subungual region. Mean duration of symptoms until diagnosis was 8 years. Conclusions: In this study, the number of cases of glomus tumor fluctuated throughout these 16 years, with a mean of 0.9 cases/year. A higher prevalence in women over 60 years, subungual region location and solid glomus histologic subtype was observed.