Laryngeal Carcinoid

Abstract

Carcinoid tumors (argentaffinomas, endocrine cell tumours) arise from endocrine cells that form part of the Amine Precursor Uptake and Decarboxylation (APUD) System. 1 Approximately forty different cell types, distributed throughout many organs, share this biosynthetic function. Major sites of localization include the thyroid, pituitary, adrenal medulla, hypothalamus, and endocrine cells (or enterochromaffin) contained within the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. Carcinoid tumors occur in such diverse sites as the thymus, ovary, urinary bladder, urethra, middle ear, breast, liver and gall-bladder. 1-2Although enterochromaffin-like cells have been demonstrated in the rat larynx,' no similar cells occur in the human larynx. However, twenty-six cases of laryngeal carcinoid have been reported in the world literature."" We report two further cases and examine the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this unusual tumor.

Clinical recommendations on the treatment of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the larynx: A meta-analysis of 436 reported cases

“…The literature on NCL is fragmented over numerous case reports and series of small sample size, often with contradicting results, making it difficult to decide on an appropriate treatment strategy. Consequently, physicians facing these tumors often resort to treatment paradigms developed for better known neoplasms (eg, squamous cell carcinoma).…”