title: Tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma mimicking a thyroid tumor: A case report.
abstract: At present, only eight cases of tracheal adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACCs) mimicking thyroid tumors have been reported. Since there are no guidelines available regarding their diagnosis and treatment, they present a significant clinical challenge. In the present study, patient treatment was analyzed to deliver the first concise summary of treatment options in patients with ACC mimicking a thyroid tumor. In addition, all available data regarding molecular abnormalities of this disease have been discussed. The current study presents a case of a 17-year-old patient with a tracheal ACC mimicking a thyroid tumor. The patient was diagnosed in 2007 with a pathological mass between the left lobe of the thyroid and the trachea, and underwent surgery and radiotherapy. In 2010, multiple lesions in the lungs were diagnosed and pulmonary metastasectomy was performed. Following surgery, the patient has been disease-free for almost 30 months. Thyroid tumor biopsy may reveal ACCs. This pathological report requires further investigation of the head and neck in order to confirm if the disease is of tracheal origin. Patients may present with a neck swelling, hoarseness of voice or dysphagia. Surgery must be considered as first-line therapy for all patients with local disease as it may be curative. For palliative treatment chemoradiotherapy based on cisplatin may be effective. The identification of cytogenetics, tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, epigenetic alterations and mitochondrial abnormalities specific for ACCs is critical to the development of targeted therapies. Thus far, large studies have only reported the transcriptional activator Myb and mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway to be disrupted in ACCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Czerniakowski Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw 00-739, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kukwa
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw 04-141, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Korzeń
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Czerniakowski Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw 00-739, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wojtowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Czerniakowski Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw 00-739, Poland ; The Maria Sklodowska Curie Memorial Cancer Centre and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw 02-781, Poland.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sobczyk
authors.affiliation: The Maria Sklodowska Curie Memorial Cancer Centre and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw 02-781, Poland.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kiprian
authors.affiliation: The Maria Sklodowska Curie Memorial Cancer Centre and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw 02-781, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawecki
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Disease, University of Varmia and Masuria School of Medicine, Olsztyn 10-561, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kukwa
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Czerniakowski Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw 00-739, Poland.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krzeski
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw 04-141, Poland.
authors.forename: Cezary
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Szczylik
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw 04-141, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Czarnecka
keywords: adenoid cystic carcinoma; cylindroma; long-term remission; thyroid tumor