Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives

studying the clinical and evolutionary characteristics of neuroendocrine laryngeal tumors and their management modalities.

Materials and methods

A retrospective study with 4 cases of neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of the larynx ENT service of the Farhat Hached hospital of Sousse.

Results

Our series consisted of 3 men and a woman. The average age was 49 years [35–63 years]. Alcohol and tobacco poisoning was reported in 3 cases. The two main signs were chronic dysphonia associated with dyspnea. The average time of evolution was 8 months. The cervical examination had objectified metastatic lymphadenopathy in 1 patient. The indirect laryngoscopy objectified a tumor lesion of the epiglottic left fold in one case, a tumor lesion taking the 3 stages of the larynx with a fixed hemilarynx in 3 cases. There was no distant metastasis in all cases. Anatomopathological study of biopsies with immunohistochemical analysis supported a well-differentiated carcinoid tumor in 1 case, small cell NET in 2 cases, and low-differentiated high-grade NET in 1 case. Therapeutic management consisted of radiation chemotherapy in 2 cases, in total laryngectomy with curage functional lymph node in 2 cases. The evolution was marked by tumor recurrence in one case indicating surgery correction. Cerebral and spinal metastases were observed during follow-up in 2 patients.

Conclusion

Neuroendocrine tumors are exceptional tumors of the larynx. The diagnosis is on anatomopathological and immunohistochemical examination. Management treatment depends on the histological subtype. Surgery is the treatment of choice for typical carcinoid tumors, atypical carcinoid tumors and paragangliomas. The treatment of small cell NET is based on radiation chemotherapy.