Papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum of the larynx.

Papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum, or Warthin's tumor, is a benign lesion of the salivary glands occurring most frequently in the parotid region. Since the initial report of this lesion in 1910, numerous reports have appeared in the literature concerning the occurrence of Warthin's tumor in many extraparotid locations, including the larynx. The vast majority of those tumors arising in the larynx have been disproved because of the absence of one or more of the histologic characteristics of this lesion within the surgical specimen. This paper will review the histologic criteria of Warthin's tumor and the typical clinical occurrence. We will discuss a case of papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum of the larynx that satisfies all the histologic criteria of this lesion. A review of the possible origins of this tumor will demonstrate that this case may lend support to the hypothesis that papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum may be the end result of a delayed hypersensitivity reaction.