Complete excision of laryngeal paragangliomas is a curative treatment, and accurate immunohistochemical diagnosis is essential to differentiate them from atypical carcinoids.
May support excision as potentially curative in laryngeal paraganglioma; leaves open validation in larger series with standardized diagnostics.
OBJECTIVES: To review the clinical and pathological picture of laryngeal paragangliomas and compare laryngeal paragangliomas with the three other types of laryngeal neuroendocrine neoplasms. STUDY DESIGN: The study presents a case review of a patient with a subglottic laryngeal paraganglioma treated at our institution, with a literature review of the laryngeal neuroendocrine neoplasms. Included is a review of all four neuroendocrine neoplasms, taking a close look at a comparison between laryngeal paragangliomas and atypical carcinoids tumors. All cases of subglottic laryngeal paragangliomas reported in the literature were also compiled and tabulated. METHODS: The patient's record was reviewed for age, symptomatology, workup, and surgical procedures performed. RESULTS: The patient was disease free 36 months after undergoing a tracheostomy for airway control, followed by a cricoid split for complete excision of the tumor. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to differentiate among the four laryngeal neuroendocrine neoplasms, especially between atypical carcinoids and paragangliomas. Each tumor requires different treatments, with the former requiring a more aggressive approach. Paragangliomas must be completely excised to prevent their recurrence, and this approach should be considered a curative treatment. In addition, the immunohistochemical battery is of paramount importance in obtaining the correct pathological diagnosis.
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Maisel et al. (2003) studied this question.
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