Chondrosarcoma of the Larynx

Epidemiology

Chondrosarcomas are rare neoplasms and account for < 1% of all laryngeal tumors. Laryngeal chondrosarcomas are low grade malignancies and tend to be less aggressive than chondrosarcomas that occur in other sites. They usually present between the fourth and sixth decades of life. The incidence is greater in men than in women (5–10:1). The most common location is the cricoid cartilage followed by the thyroid cartilage.

Clinical Findings

Clinical presentation is nonspecific. The majority of symptoms are due to progressive narrowing of the airway. Presenting complaints include hoarseness, poor voice, dyspnea, and dysphagia. At endoscopy, laryngeal chondrosarcomas are very firm submucoid masses.

Pathology

The majority of chondrosarcomas are felt to arise from hyaline cartilage and have no evidence of elastic tissue. The pathologic criteria are as follows: (1) pronounced irregularity in size of the cells and their nuclei, (2) presence of numerous cells and their nuclei, (3) pronounced hyperchromatism of their nuclei, (4) any large or giant cartilage cells with single or multiple nuclei with clumps of chromatin.

Treatment