Giant Osteolytic Schwannoma from the Sixth Thoracic Nerve Root – An Interesting Case

A 36-year-old woman presented with increasing thoracic back pain radiating to the left scapula for 3 weeks without neurological deficit. Images showed a predominantly expansile soft tissue mass of the 6^th and 7^th thoracic vertebrae with pressure erosions on the ribs and transverse processes on the left side ([Fig. 1a, b]). Differential diagnoses included a predominantly solid aneurysmal bone cyst (lacking the typical fluid-fluid levels), fibrous dysplasia (purely lytic variant) and a giant cell tumor (with only minimal osteodestruction). However, the pressure erosions suggested that the tumor originated from soft tissue rather than from bony structures.