Current concepts for the surgical management of carotid body tumor

Background Carotid body tumor (CBT) is a rare lesion of the neuroendocrine system. Chronic hypoxia has long been recognized as an etiology of CBT and other paragangliomas. Recent biogenetic discoveries reveal that mutations in oxygen-sensing genes are another etiology, accounting for approximately 35% of cases, and that these 2 etiologies are probably additive. Data Sources (1) A retrospective analysis of fifteen cases of CBT in a 6-year period...