Giant cell tumor of the larynx: a case of malignant sarcomatous transformation

We report what is to the best of our knowledge the first case of malignant transformation of a giant cell tumor of the larynx. The patient, a 34-year-old man, presented to our tertiary care university teaching hospital where he underwent hemilaryngopharyngectomy with radial forearm free flap reconstruction and 11 of 15 cycles of chemotherapy. He remained disease-free at approximately 6 years and 4 months of follow-up. The patient is decannulated and continues to have a good voice with excellent quality of life to this day. We discuss the patient's clinical course and subsequent treatment within the context of a review of the current literature regarding this disease entity. Our experience demonstrates that giant cell tumor of the larynx may present as a malignant neoplasm without adversely affecting the patient's prognosis when treated aggressively with surgical resection and adjunct chemotherapy.