Objective: To summarize the clinical features of laryngeal neuroendocrine carcinoma (LNEC).
Methods: The clinical data of all LNEC patients hospitalized during the period of June 1988 - December 2010 were analyzed retrospectively.
Results: Among all LNEC 12 patients as confirmed by pathological examination, there were typical carcinoid (n = 1), atypical carcinoid (n = 4) (2 with cervical metastasis, 1 with paraneoplastic syndrome), small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (n = 7) (1 with adenocarcinoma). All patients with typical and atypical carcinoid underwent surgery. And postoperative radiotherapy was offered for those diagnosed with advanced stage or cervical metastasis. They were followed up for 1 - 12 years without local recurrence. All patients with laryngeal small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma received chemotherapy and radiotherapy. And the follow-up period was 0.5 - 6 years. One died of pulmonary metastasis within half a year while another died of liver metastasis within 3 years.
Conclusion: It is important to classify the LNEC patients correctly since their clinical course, treatment and prognosis varies greatly with the diagnosis. For typical and atypical carcinoid of larynx, partial or total laryngectomy and neck dissection may be performed depending on the site and extent of primary tumor. However, for laryngeal small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, the mainstay of treatment is made up of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. And the prognosis of this type remains very poor.