Four cases of patients treated for tracheal tumors at our department

BACKGROUND: Tracheal tumors include benign tracheal tumors, malignant tracheal tumors, and secondary tracheal tumors (metastatic and invasive), all of which are rare. Since chest radiography often fails to detect abnormalities irrespective of whether tracheal tumors are benign or malignant, it is speculated that these tumors are difficult to detect early and that their definitive diagnosis is likely to be delayed.METHODS: We analyzed four patients with tracheal tumors who had been treated during a 35-year period from 1987 to 2022 at our department. There were one man and three women, with ages ranging from 35 to 90 years (mean: 57.8 years).RESULTS: The tumor site was the trachea in three patients and the tracheal bifurcation in one patient. The histopathological type was primary tracheal tumors in three patients (adenocarcinoma in 1, adenoid cystic carcinoma in 1, and granular cell tumor in 1) and a secondary tracheal tumor in one patient (tracheal invasion of thyroid cancer). Our surgical procedures were tracheal sleeve resection with end-to-end anastomosis in three patients and carinal resection with double-barrel reconstruction in one patient. The time from initial presentation to definitive diagnosis ranged from 5 to 24 months (mean, 12.3 months), which may be explained by the fact that these tumors may be often treated as other disease. The postoperative follow-up period ranged from 2 years and 9 months to 20 years, and all patients were confirmed to be alive without recurrence during the follow-up period.CONCLUSIONS: Particularly for patients with asthma-like respiratory symptoms, drug therapy should not be continued without careful consideration, and computed tomography should be performed with the presence of tracheal tumors in mind. If their presence is suspected, detailed examinations such as sputum cytology and bronchoscopy, should be promptly performed.