MUCOEPIDERMOID CARCINOMA OF THE LARYNX - A CASE WHICH RESPONDED COMPLETELY TO RADIOTHERAPY AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Most laryngeal cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, and adenocarcinom as account for <1% of cancers of the larynx. Among them, mucoepidermoi d carcinoma is extremely rare and there is little agreement about the treatment of this carcinoma. We encountered one patient with mucoepide rmoid carcinoma of the bilateral vocal cords (T1bNOMO, Stage 1), For t his, most investigators recommended a surgical procedure. However, bec ause of his old age, the early stage and low grade of histopathology, we treated this patient with radiotherapy alone, delivered by accelera ted hyperfractionation, which is a more effective strategy for treatin g radioresistant tumors than conventional irradiation. Following radio therapy, the tumor disappeared and the patient has been alive and well for more than six years. An old patient with mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the larynx was successfully treated with radiotherapy alone.