LIPOSARCOMAS OF THE LARYNX AND HYPOPHARYNX - A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF 8 NEW CASES AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal liposarcomas were studied in seven men an d one woman. Patient age ranged from 25 to 81 years, with a median of 64 years. Symptoms included dysphagia, airway obstruction, and the sen sation of a foreign body in the back of the throat. Histologically, se ven of the tumors were of the biologically favorable types, either rep resenting well-differentiated (lipoma-like) liposarcomas or myxoid lip osarcomas. One tumor was a pleomorphic liposarcoma. Six of the eight p atients had one or more episodes of recurrent tumor. Surgery is the tr eatment of choice and can include conservative (organ-sparing) procedu res. However, to eradicate the tumor completely and thereby prevent re current disease, open surgical approaches (i.e., lateral pharyngotomy) , rather than endoscopic techniques should be employed. The morbidity rate for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal liposarcomas is high because the se tumors tend to recur over extended periods of time. In this study, however, there were no instances of metastatic disease, and no deaths were attributed to liposarcoma. Prospectively, laryngeal and hypophary ngeal well-differentiated (lipoma-like) liposarcoma is a difficult cli nical and histopathologic diagnosis to establish. Often, this diagnosi s is made only after one or more episodes of recurrent disease.