[Juvenile papillomatosis of the larynx]

Juvenile laryngeal papilloma is the most common childhood neoplasm of the larynx. It is most often multiple and is characterized by a strong tendency to recur. Seventy-eight children with primary juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis (JLP) were treated at the ENT Department of the Zagreb University School of Medicine in the last 20 years and in the last 6 years interferon has been introduced into the therapy. Causes of the recurrence and the resistance to the therapy have been investigated. It has been shown that the administration of interferon has a certain effect on the tumor growth, but it has no effect against tumor recurrence. In patients with a severe clinical course the epithelial atypia of basal layer of papilloma and the increased enzymatic activity have been found.