Carotid body tumors—epidemiology and surgical resection

Carotid body tumor originates from paraganglion cells of the carotid body and is a hypervascular tumor with multiple feeding arteries and uniquely located at the carotid bifurcation. Recently, it has been revealed that various types of gene alterations exist mainly in the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) gene family. Although resection is a radical therapy for this tumor, complete resection is challenging. On the other hand, radiotherapy for carotid body tumors is insufficient as a radical therapy concerning the response rate. Here, we reviewed articles reporting carotid body tumor treatment and surgical resection focusing on choice of treatment, surgical difficulties, and preoperative embolization of feeding arteries. The effectiveness of preoperative embolization remains controversial due to the varied situations performing surgical resection among the institutions.