[Pathology and biologic behavior of laryngeal carcinoid]

A case of carcinoid of the larynx was reported and other 8 cases collected from the literature were analysed. The average age of the patients was 66.8 years, which was 5-10 years older than that of patients with squamous carcinoma of the larynx. Carcinoid is rarely present in the larynx. The route of the spread is mainly through the blood stream rather than local infiltration. The prognosis for patients with carcinoid of the larynx is more favorable than that of squamous carcinoma of the larynx, but more serious than that of carcinoid of the lung and intestine. The 5-year survival rate was less than 50%. Histochemical study revealed that the carcinoid of the larynx was one of the foregut type, and might arise from neuroendocrine cells of the ectoderm.