Radiation induced carcinoma of the larynx

A squamous cell carcinoma presented in a 20 year old female nonsmoker three years after receiving a high dosage of radiation therapy to the base of the skull, face and entire neuroaxis and intense combination chemotherapy for a parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma of the paranasal sinuses is reported. The larynx received a dose of about 3,500 rads over an eight week period. This dosage in conjunction with the associated intense chemotherapy regimen given to the patient may explain the appearance of a radiation induced tumor in an unusually short latent period. This certainly represents a risk in young patients in whom an aggressive combined approach is taken and the physician should be aware of.