Atypical carcinoid tumor of the larynx: a case report

The neuroendocrine tumors are the second most common malignant tumors of the larynx. They originate from the neuroendocrine cells located in the basal and middle layer of the respiratory epithelium of ventricule and subglottis. Atypical carcinoid tumors of the larynx (moderately differentiated neuroendocrine tumors) are the most common type. They have an aggressive clinical course and poor prognosis. A 60-year-old male patient presented to our clinic with painful neck mass which had grown for a month. Laryngeal examination of the patient revealed a vegetative mass involving anterior surface of the right aryepiglottic fold, posterior surface of the ventricle and destructing the epiglottis. There were multiple palpable lymph nodes in the bilateral jugulodigastric, middle jugular, posterior cervical and right jugular lymph nodes in the neck. Lung and bone metastasis was present. The patient was diagnosed as atypic carcinoid tumor of the larynx. The patient was treated with chemotherapy (cisplatin, etaposide and zoledronic acid). The computed tomography which was performed three months after chemotherapy revealed regression of the mass lesion in the aryepiglottic fold and lymph nodes at cervical chain. We intended to present this case since neuroendocrine tumors of the larynx are rare and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of larynx neoplasms