Glomus tumour of the cervical trachea, report of a case and review of the literature

Objectives: To describe the diagnostic and surgical management of a cervical tracheal glomus tumour and to perform a contemporary systematic review.Materials and methods: We describe the management of a patient with cervical tracheal glomus tumour. Subsequently, a literature search in the PubMed/MEDLINE database for the last 20 years, from January 2000 to June 2020 was performed. The primary objective studies were those with patients who have been diagnosed and treated for glomus tumour of the trachea. Using this framework, two reviewers retrieved studies and those were critically evaluated. Results: A total of 68 reports were screened for eligibility and 33 were included based on inclusion-exclusion criteria with 36 patients included. The most common location was the thoracic segment (82.9%) being cough and dyspnoea the most prevalent presenting symptoms. No risk factors for tracheal glomus tumour were identified. Diagnostic techniques included cross sectional imaging and bronchoscopy. Surgical excision is the preferred treatment option. With a median follow up of 20.7 months, all patients were alive and free of recurrence.Conclusion: Tracheal glomus tumour is extremely rare, especially those located in the cervical segment of the trachea. Due to the silent evolution of the disease and the difficulty of exploration, this tumour is normally diagnosed with severe tracheal obstruction. Although this is a benign process in the majority of cases, the best treatment option is surgical excision, or endoscopic resection in selected cases. The tumour reported in this article was in close relation with the thyroid gland and the recurrent laryngeal nerve, creating a new surgical challenge for the head and neck surgeon.