Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the trachea: the case for complete surgical resection

Adenocarcinomas of the trachea are rare but important because the only reported treatment in the past (radiation) has resulted in uniformly poor results. The authors recently had the opportunity to treat a young woman with a mucin-producing adenocarcinoma of the trachea. A sleeve resection of the involved trachea with reanastomosis was successful, and the patient is alive and well with no evidence of tumor four years later. Thus, primary resection should be strongly considered for adenocarcinoma of the trachea whenever possible.