DEDIFFERENTIATED CHONDROSARCOMA OF THE LARYNX WITH REGIONAL AND DISTANT METASTASES

Chondrosarcoma of the larynx is an unusual tumor, with only approximat ely 200 cases having been reported. This tumor is relatively nonaggres sive and tends to remain localized in the larynx. Two cases with aggre ssive clinical behavior manifested by regional or distant metastasis a re presented. In the first case, cervical node metastasis appeared 6 m onths after total laryngectomy. A dedifferentiated chrondrosarcoma was identified by pathologic examination. In the other case, clavicular m etastasis developed 7 years after initial local excision. Despite addi tional treatments, the patient later developed cervical node, lung, an d vertebral metastasis. Transformation from low-grade to dedifferentia ted chondrosarcoma was verified by pathologic examination. We believe this case to be the first reported laryngeal chondrosarcoma with bone metastasis. A review of the literature regarding regional and/or dista nt metastasis of laryngeal chondrosarcoma, including the present obser vations, reveals a total of 20 cases. In all cases, tumor grade has be en directly correlated with the development of metastasis.