A case of giant chondrosarcoma of the cricoid cartilage presenting as a superior mediastinal tumour

We report the case of a 73-year-old man operated on for a symptomatic super ior mediastinal mass which developed from the cricoid cartilage. Through ce rvicotomy and partial sternotomy, laryngeal subglottic resection allowed co mplete removal of the tumour. From pathological examination, a benign chond roma was initially diagnosed without any criterion of malignancy. However, subsequent review of the pathological slides showed the lesion to be a low grade chondrosarcoma with an epithelial quota of spindle cells, responsible for the patient's death. This case illustrates the need for resection of p resumed cricoid cartilage chondromas because of their potential mediastinal development and associated malignancies. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. Al l rights reserved.