High-Grade Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Larynx: The Mayo Clinic Experience

Objective:

To report a single institutional series of high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the larynx (NCL), a very rare yet aggressive tumor. To review the management of NCL, including discussion of clinical behavior, treatment outcome, and prognosis.

Method:

A retrospective chart review of high-grade laryngeal neuroendocrine carcinomas at a single institution, including small- and large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas. A total of 8 patients with high-grade NCL treated at our institution from 1992 to 2014 were identified.

Results:

The median age at diagnosis was 65.5 years (range, 43-80). Five patients were male. Two patients had a known smoking history. Primary tumor location was supraglottic in 7 patients and glottic in 1 patient. Primary treatment consisted of surgery alone (3 patients), radiotherapy alone (1 patient), combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy (1 patient), and surgery followed by postoperative chemoradiotherapy (3 patients). Locoregional recurrence followed by distant metastasis occurred in 6 patients. Median overall survival was 44.0 months (95% CI, 3-62.0).

Conclusion:

High-grade NCL is a rare diagnosis. Compared to well- and moderately differentiated NCL, high-grade NCL has a far more aggressive clinical course and associated with a worse prognosis. To our knowledge, this is the largest series of patients with high-grade NCL treated at a single institution. Prompt diagnosis and multimodality therapy including elective neck dissection may improve survival.

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