Endobronchial Chondromas

Abstract

Endobronchial chondromas are rare benign tumors. They may be part of the Carney triad; however, isolated endobronchial chondromas can occur in the larynx, trachea, and bronchi. We report a case of an endobronchial chondroma in a 61-y-old man with an incidental 5-mm endobronchial polypoid lesion at the proximal left main bronchus that was later found to be an endobronchial chondroma. Flexible bronchoscopy demonstrated a pedunculated, vascularized, pink mass. An excisional biopsy revealed a well-circumscribed lesion with nodular areas of mature cartilage and myxoid tissue confirmatory of an endobronchial chondroma. We reviewed a total of 23 cases of isolated endobronchial chondromas reported in the medical literature. Despite their rarity, endobronchial chondromas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of endobronchial tumors. Prompt recognition and resection of endobronchial chondromas is important to prevent airway obstruction and its associated complications.

Tracheobronchial tumors

“…Endobronchial chondromas may be part of the Carney triad. Isolated endobronchial chondromas are less frequent than in Carney triade and can occur anywhere in the tracheobronchial tree with a higher prevalence in trachea (58). In Carney triad, chondroma affects young females whereas isolated chondromas affect males between third and fifth decade (53,58).…”

“…Well differentiated chondrosarcoma can be sometimes misdiagnosed as chondroma. The presence of tissue invasion, metastatic lesions are suggestive of chondrosarcoma or other metastasis (58)(59)(60).…”

Rare airway tumors: an update on current diagnostic and management strategies

“…Furthermore, there is no epidemiological data due to the lack of large prospective or retrospective clinical studies. Through individual review of most up-to-date case reports and reviews of each individual tumor, we present the prevalence of each tumor as percentage of primary pulmonary tumors (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) or as number of reported cases as well as gender predominance, age predominance and associated risk factors, Table 2 (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28).…”

“…There are subtle differences in the diagnostic work-up for these tumors depending on the extent of the disease. General summary of the diagnostic tool and associated findings of each tumor is presented below ( Table 3) (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(30)(31)(32)(33)36,38,48,58,59) .…”

“…Endoscopic approach is preferred over surgical approach in patients with multiple co-morbidities and high surgical risk. Other treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and anti-inflammatory drugs may be used in conjunction with surgical or endoscopic management or as palliation for patient who have tumors that are candidates for endoscopic or surgical management (3,4,6,7,9,(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). A summary of most employed treatment modalities for rare airway tumors is provided in Table 4 (26,32,36,47,49,(58)(59)(60)(62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67).…”