Tracheal carcinoma following short term tracheostomy in childhood (a case report)

Carcinoma of the trachea is rare in comparison to other neoplasms of the respiratory tract. Cigarette smoking has been implicated in its aetiology, but unlike carcinoma of the bronchus and lung, the incidence of tracheal carcinoma has not risen with tobacco consumption (Hajdu et al., 1970; Ranke et al., 1962). It seems, then, that there is some mechanism or mechanisms which render the trachea especially resistant to malignant change.