Primary chondrosarcoma of the hyoid bone: a case report and literature review

Chondrosarcoma (CS) located in the hyoid is exceedingly rare, with only a handful cases reported thus far. Because of its rarity, CS is not easily diagnosed by clinicians or pathologists. The present study reports a 42-year-old woman diagnosed with hyoid chondrosarcoma grade 2-3 after a wide local resection. To provide better insight into the disease, this study reviewed and analyzed 21 cases with the same disease, reported between 1990 and 2016. These cases were retrieved by searching PubMed and references. Symptom of hyoid chondrosarcoma are poor in specificity. A slow growing painless mass in the neck is a common sign. CTs and MRIs play important roles in judging whether the neoplasm is benign or malignant. A high false negative rate should be considered before making a diagnosis by fine needle aspiration biopsy. Surgery is the golden standard of treatment. Because of insensitivity, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be used as accessory treatments in some circumstances. The main factors of prognosis correlate to enough surgical resection and tumor histologic grades.