Unique presentation of adenoid cystic carcinoma in postcricoid region: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Malignant tumors of minor salivary glands are uncommon, representing only 2-4% of all head and neck malignancies. In the larynx, minor salivary gland tumors rarely occur and constitute less than 1% of laryngeal tumors. Most of the minor salivary gland tumors arise in the subglottis; however, they can also occur in the supraglottis in the false vocal cords, aryepiglottic folds, and caudal aspect of the epiglottis. The most common type of malignant minor salivary gland tumor is adenoid cystic carcinoma. In the last 20 years, only 40 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma arising in variable locations of the larynx have been reported in the English language literature. We present a case of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the larynx arising in the inter-arytenoid and postcricoid region in a 54-year-old woman. To our knowledge, this is the first case of adenoid cystic carcinoma arising in this particular region of the larynx.

The Case Report of Laryngeal Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma: A Rare Entity

“…Some prefer partial laryngecotmy, but there is a risk of lymphatic vessel and preneural spread and sub mucosal involvement. Neck dissection should be done based on the clinical confirmed lymph node metastasis (3,5,6). Our case underwent radiotherapy after her surgery and her condition was followed 6 months after the first year radiotherapy.…”

“…Moreover, hoarseness can represent glottis involvement. Some studies claim that painful feeling in the pre-laryngeal area can be an important sign to focus on in advanced ACC patients (3,5,6).…”

“…Chemotherapy can be another adjuvant therapy for advanced tumors with distant metastasis besides surgery and radiotherapy. On the other hand, some studies claim that chemotherapy exposes patients to unnecessary toxins, since it has minimal effect on solid tumors (3,5,6). …”

Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of Larynx: A Case Report and Rare Experience

“…The subglottic lesion is generally diagnosed late and they are in advance stage. 10 Zvrko and Golubovic 11 proposed prelaryngeal pain is the only symptom even in advance stage. The cribriform, tubular, and solid are three histopathological patterns of ACC.…”

Salivary Gland Cancers: A Survey through History, Classifications and Managements

“…On the other hand, it is the most common malignancy of minor salivary gland tumors with a proportion ranging from 32 to 71% [67]. AdCC may involve other sites and glands such as lacrimal and ceruminous glands as well as nasal and paranasal sinuses, larynx and trachea [32,67,[71][72][73][74]. AdCC is mostly found in the parotid, submandibular and minor salivary glands.…”