Primitive small cell larynx tumor: presentation of a case and literature review

Abstract

Objective: The main purpose of this paper is to communicate one case of infrequent pathology of the larynx, such as primitive small cell tumor, and to review the literature related to different aspects of diagnosis and treatment. Our case: There was a 35-year-old man who came to us because he had presented dysphonia for 8 months and in the last week odynophagia and hemoptoic sputum. At the neck examination, he presented large, fixed, painless, and soft bilateral lymph nodes. A general clinical examination, especially the pneumonologic studies, did not show anomalies. In the endoscopic exam, the tumor was on the right side of the supraglottical region, with the vocal cords fixed. Diagnosis: This was made by (1) histologic studies with a pattern compatible with small cell neuroendocrine tumor; for this, we did an extended biopsy; (2) use of monoclonal antibodies that established neuroendocrine origin of tumor; (3) clinical examination, which had no evidence of concomitant tumoral lesions in other organs, especially at the pulmonary level. Conclusions: First, it was recommended to take abundant biopsy material to accurately determine the type of tumor. Second, it was strongly recommended to discard the small cell tumor localized particularly at the pulmonary level.