title: Cartilaginous tumors of the larynx.
abstract: Cartilaginous tumors of the larynx, while rare, will on occasion be encountered by the otolaryngologist in routine daily practice. True laryngeal chondromas are exceedingly rare, and as a consequence, a putative diagnosis of chondroma should be viewed with suspicion. On pathologic examination, laryngeal chondromas usually prove to be small lesions (less than 2 cm in maximum dimension) and may arise in children or adults. Laryngeal chondrosarcomas, by contrast, usually prove to be larger lesions (exceeding 3 cm in greatest dimension) and are typically found in adults. While high-grade chondrosarcomas are readily identifiable on light microscopic study, the distinction between a chondroma and a low-grade chondrosarcoma is often not so clear-cut. Some low-grade chondrosarcomas may show a slight increase in both cellularity and cytologic atypia when compared with chondromas, but the two patterns often overlap. When faced with a limited biopsy specimen of a laryngeal cartilaginous lesion in which neither increased cellularity nor recognizable cytologic atypia is found, a diagnosis of "cartilaginous tumor without obvious evidence of malignancy--further classification dependent on examination of the lesion in its entirety," or words to this effect, is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
authors.forename: K O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Devaney
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferlito
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Silver
mesh_terms: D002812:Chondroma / Q000473:pathology*; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male